DoveFoxSnake
by FanficMonster101
Summary: Women keep a special corner of their heart for sins they have never committed. ::SasuHina:: ::slight NaruHina::
1. Chapter 1

**Me: **Don't be scared if it looks like I took down some chapters. It's a double update – one chapter at the beginning and one at the end. I've always wanted to redo the first three chapters – I just didn't know how. So I made them into one! Everyone gets a POV! POVs for all! You, and you, and you get a POV!

Enjoy.

* * *

><p>"How are you doing?" Naruto asks.<p>

Sasuke very slowly raises his handcuffed wrists, and Naruto produces a wincing smile. "Yeah, well. Other than that."

"Your Anbu tell me I'm waiting for execution."

Naruto is caught off guard for a second by the sudden subject change, but recovers quickly. Sasuke had always preferred The Point to appear early in the conversation. Naruto sets his jaw. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Touching."

"I mean it, Sasuke. That's not happening, not while I'm around." Naruto stands, looking very much the determined hero. Sasuke idly wishes his hands were free so he could strangle him.

"I didn't bring you back so they could kill you," Naruto says, frustrated, talking only partly to Sasuke. "Sakura and I didn't spend years chasing you to watch you die. I brought you back so you could _live_. With us. Like before."

It's not that Sasuke doesn't believe him. It's that he is extremely tired of being Naruto's purpose. Sasuke half-rolls his eyes, the action concealed in the dim light of the holding cell. Naruto isn't looking, anyway. He's looking at somewhere far beyond, grimly determined.

"I'm getting you out of here, teme."

And of course, like every other well-intentioned, misguided promise Naruto has made, he makes good on it.

* * *

><p>Naruto is wearing the world's biggest grin. Nothing can bring him down.<p>

"Dobe, you look like a serial killer. Wipe that stupid smile off your face."

Not even Sasuke.

"Oh, come on, teme! Aren'tcha glad to be back?"

"No."

Naruto rolls his eyes, but a possible retort is lost as they shuffle awkwardly around an immobile group of women. They're walking side by side on the main road, which in retrospect wasn't a great idea; they're attracting quite a bit of attention. Naruto ignores the whispers, but Sasuke sends each villager a glare that could freeze hell over. Twice.

Tsunade was quite lenient with his punishment, considering the crimes Sasuke racked up in the years he spent with Orochimaru. Of course, this is mostly due to Naruto's lobbying, and not any real desire on Tsunade's part to go easy on him. Had the village elders decided they wanted Sasuke dead, Naruto doesn't think the Hokage would have been too beat up about it. What they decided in the end, after days of debate, was to put Sasuke on parole for one year. He always has to be accompanied by a trusted Leaf shinobi, and cannot use his Sharingan or activate his Curse Mark. Naruto thinks that's fair. Sasuke disagrees.

They've engaged in their normal rapport, like nothing happened, but under all the name-calling, each casual insult, every loose-knuckled shoulder punch, is the quick-glancing, muscle-tensing adrenaline of their last fight, the one that nearly killed them both.

Spying a head of indigo in the crowd in front of them, Naruto's mood lightens. No one else has hair like that, and it means good things. "Hey, Hinata-chan!" he shouts, craning his neck to see her better. Sure enough, she turns around, curious, and when she sees Naruto her face lights up. "Naruto-kun!" she greets, making her way back to them against the flow of citizens. Sasuke and Naruto move off to the side of the road, crowding against the store fronts. When Hinata reaches them Naruto throws his arms around her, hugging so enthusiastically she is lifted off her feet a few inches. She gasps with laughter, and when Naruto sets her back down he sees her cheeks are cherry red. She doesn't faint from physical contact anymore, but she isn't immune to it, either, Naruto notes with satisfaction.

"I'm so glad you're back," Hinata says breathlessly. That _look_ – relief and adoration, familiarity, hope, longing, joy, love – is all for him, and he thinks he might be staring a little too long, but he wants to drink it in for as long as he can. She endures his gaze for a few moments, then fidgets, as if she can't quite handle his undivided attention. Naruto wants to take her face in his hands and make her look at him again, but he stands still. "W-we visited you in the hospital," she is saying. "We were so worried. For a while they thought you might not wake up." He had known this before, known that he was close to death, hadn't known she had visited. He imagines her standing with Kiba and Shino beside his bed, solemn but hopeful, and his heart twinges. "I knew you would," she says, quiet, a little self-conscious, but determined to say it.

Sasuke, seemingly unable to help himself, makes some sound from the back of his throat that could be amusement or disgust. Hinata's eyes flick to him, startled, and Naruto blinks, having momentarily forgotten he was there.

"Uh, Hinata-chan, you remember Sasuke, right?" He turns to his best friend, knowing she does. Everyone does.

Thank Kami Sasuke isn't glaring poisonously at her like the few other Rookie Nine members they have met so far. He's not even glaring mildly. And while this is an improvement, it is also slightly alarming, because the current look on Sasuke's face is indecipherable.

Hinata nods, sobered, formal. "W-Welcome back, Uchiha-san," she says, bowing a little, and Naruto is actually relieved. They'd run into Team 10 the other day, and while Naruto was greeted with hugs and good-natured reprimands, the welcome for Sasuke had been less than warm. Ino had offered her hand, smiling hesitantly, but retracted it when all Sasuke did was stare. Chouji muttered something that might have been "hey" but the greeting was lost in the suddenly vigorous munching of potato chips. Shikamaru had taken a drag of his cigarette, unafraid to stare Sasuke down in return, and simply said they should be going.

Naruto is pleased that Hinata isn't tripping over herself in fear (although Sasuke would probably assume it was love, wouldn't he?) She looks mildly uncomfortable, but Sasuke has that affect on people. Overall she's responding much more positively than he's come to expect from their peers. But, of course, she always has. She's much changed, Hinata, but at the same time much the same.

Sasuke, as is his custom, doesn't say anything in reply. He stares at Hinata, whose smile turns nervous as she shifts her footing. Naruto steps forward slightly, effectively blocking their sight, and cups Hinata's elbow, guiding her gently into walking with him. Sasuke silently falls into step.

"So where are you headed?" Naruto makes himself remove his hand from Hinata's arm.

"Home." Hinata's eyes fill with warmth. "I was at Kurenai-sensei's house, watching Nomi. She just learned how to hop on one foot. We played hopscotch all day."

"What?" Naruto exclaims. "I can't believe I missed her first steps! If Kurenai ever needs a babysitter, I'm her man! When I'm not babysitting Sasuke, of course." He leans in conspiratorially. "Full-time job."

"And what a fine job you do," Sasuke says.

"Damn right! Where would you be without me?"

"Free," Sasuke says, as another person might say "the weather is nice today". Naruto's grin, rather than falter, brightens to an almost uncomfortable level. "You'd be dead," he says, looking straight into Sasuke's eyes. Seconds tick by.

Hinata pipes up, voice a tad louder than usual. "W-where do you live, Uchiha-san?" she leans slightly around Naruto to look at him.

Sasuke gives her one of his looks, and she tries a different approach. "I mean, where are you staying now?"

"My old apartment in the South district. It was never sold."

Naruto scratches his cheek, his anger simmering down slowly. It's surprising, a good surprise, that Sasuke is talking to her, albeit flatly and without really making eye contact.

No, it never sold. It was never on the market. After Sasuke left, the Anbu closed it down and sealed it off, like it was a crime scene. He imagines Sasuke came home and was surprised to see everything exactly where he left it, the only new additions a fine layer of dust and a team of Anbu across the street. Or maybe he accepted it, as he has everything else, with a numb indifference.

"Is it lonely?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke stare at her. She flushes, but doesn't retract her statement, and Naruto is about to steer the conversation in a different direction when Sasuke answers her. "Iie."

She smiles, a little uncertainly. "W-Well, if you ever want…to talk? We live in the same district now," she points out.

Naruto clears his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. The thought of Sasuke and Hinata hanging out, becoming friends, even, is as unwelcome as it is ridiculous. "You moved out of the compound?" he asks, instead of voicing this opinion.

Hinata, oblivious to his misgivings, nods happily. "A few months ago. I'm excited to have my own apartment." Her eyes light up. "And my neighbor thinks he's the Fire Daimyo!"

Naruto snorts a laugh, too shocked to respond, and it falls to Sasuke to ask the obvious, inflectionless. "What."

Hinata launches into an excited speech about her elderly neighbor, and his insistence that she address him as "Dono", his requests that she write down his many decrees, which range from "all rice paddies must be fertilized with soap" to "no person may allow a horse to sleep in their bathtub". She is giggling, affectionately rather than cruelly, and as Naruto laughs along he wants more and more to pull her to his side and walk like that, an arm around her shoulders keeping her close, let her laughter soak into him.

Sasuke listens to her soft, unassuming laugh and wants to drink it from her, drain her, until she has no more. The sound of it both irritates and draws him in, but he pushes that thought from his head. He puts his hands in his pockets and ignores the two of them, and they reciprocate, lost in their own world.

Unfortunately he cannot tune their conversation out, and has to walk beside them while they play out this nauseating, prosaic courtship. Naruto asks about her work at the hospital. Hinata wants to know about his travels. Naruto marvels at the changes he sees in the village, and Hinata reports the changes she sees in her own clan. They talk excitedly about Tenten's plans to open a weapon shop, and gossip about Shikamaru's frequent visits to Sunagakure.

Sasuke loathes every minute. These events and people mean nothing to him, except that they used to, and every twinge of his memory is a knife to his frontal lobe. But more than the reminders of the past, he is sickened by the two of them, their smiles and long looks, their not-quite-but-almost touching hands, the inevitability of their union.

It's strikingly obvious how delighted Naruto is; his happiness is tangible. That is what bothers Sasuke the most. But he doesn't want it for himself. What he wants, with a burning he thought himself incapable of anymore, is that Naruto not have it.

At last they have reached a parting point – Hinata's apartment building looms ahead, casting its shadow towards them. The sun has begun to set. Goodbye, Hinata says to Naruto, her hair glinting red in the dying light, a painting. Portrait of the Faithful Lover. Naruto hugs her, wrapping her in his arms instead of throwing them around her. Sasuke, though scornful of the entire display, glances away, as if he is witnessing something private.

"Ja ne, Uchiha-san," Hinata says when they separate, warmth in every word, although it is not for him. She lingers in the imaginary circle of Naruto's arms. Sasuke chooses not to acknowledge her, and she, in her joy, is unaffected. She looks at Naruto one last time, then turns and walks toward her apartment. She is halfway up the stairs before Naruto seems to come back to himself. "Wait, Hinata-chan!" he calls, loud as always, and Sasuke exhales in irritation. Hinata stops her ascent, listening. "We're meeting up at Ichiraku's the day after tomorrow, you should come! Bring Kiba and Shino too, I haven't seen them yet!"

Even from here her smile is visible. "Hai! I'll see you then!"

"Bye!" Naruto shouts unnecessarily, his grin irrepressible. Sasuke begins walking away, and after a moment Naruto jogs to catch up. "Wow," he says after a moment. "Hinata's really different."

"I wouldn't know," Sasuke says.

"I mean, not just from how she used to be, but from everyone else."

Sasuke hopes silence will stop this conversation, and it works for a minute or two, but Naruto starts back up again suddenly. "She's really nice, isn't she? She even tried to talk to you. Even though you're a grumpy bastard."

"She's not so annoying," Sasuke concedes. He stops walking, and Naruto doesn't notice immediately. The blonde looks over his shoulder, confused, and Sasuke inclines his head towards his apartment building. "We're here."

Naruto looks surprised, and then, for a fleeting second, troubled. It doesn't escape Sasuke's notice. "She was right," he observes, casting a brief glance back in the direction of her apartment. "We do live close."

Naruto's frown deepens, a shadow passing over his eyes, and Sasuke feels, for the first time in months, the faintest trace of satisfaction.

* * *

><p>Naruto knocks again on his door the next day, wanting to train. "Not like a serious spar or anything," he says as offhandedly as he can, "just hand-to-hand."<p>

Ah. Sasuke's suspicions are confirmed – they are going to ignore their last fight. They are going to shove it under the carpet and pretend Sasuke came back willingly and that they are sparring hand-to-hand because they want to and not because they have to.

It is not much of an exercise for Sasuke, because they are fairly evenly matched physically, and even after all this time know each others' fighting style so well it isn't much of a strategical challenge either. The hits he does land on Naruto are somewhat gratifying, but not as much as he thought they would be. Wounding Naruto physically is a temporary outlet for his hatred when Naruto gets jabs in nearly as frequently, when the boy seems to recover as fast as Sasuke can hit him, when he just leaps back to his feet and grins his happy grin, certain in the knowledge that Sasuke did not mean him real harm.

When they are finished they walk back, Naruto carrying the conversation as usual, and even though Sasuke was expecting it earlier, the topic of Hinata does come up eventually. "Do you…" Naruto sounds almost tentative, a word never before used to describe the boy. "Do you think Hinata is single?"

Sasuke shrugs.

Naruto measures his next words, which is new to Sasuke. He had thought Naruto incapable of tact. "She loves…" He stops, starts again. "She loved me, when we were kids. And for a long time after. When Pain attacked the village, she told me so." He kicks at the dirt. "Do you think she still does?"

"Did you ever answer her?" Sasuke asks instead of replying. The answer to the blonde's question is obvious, but it would make Naruto happy, and he has no interest in that.

Naruto looks up at him, startled. "I…not really…no."

"Hn."

Naruto crosses his arms over his chest, shoulders hunched. "Do you…" he starts to ask, but trails off. The doubt radiates off him in waves.

Sasuke realizes after a few moments that this, this stupid teenage turmoil over a shy, bland girl, is much more satisfying than watching Naruto's head snap back. He can see he's planted the seeds of doubt, and it makes for a much better show than a temporary bruise and a friendly smile. A new plan is in order.

Automatically, mechanically, Sasuke takes stock of his weapons, building his strategy, preparing, as always, for war.

* * *

><p>They gather at the ramen bar, because it is Naruto's favorite place to be and he is the nucleus around which they all orbit. Team 10 is there, as well as Team 7, and Hinata brings Kiba but explains that Shino is on a mission. Shino, Sasuke can stand; Kiba is one more loudmouth in a town full of idiots. Luckily Kiba ignores him, heading straight for Naruto. After greeting Kiba joyfully, and then getting into an argument with him, and then making up, only then does Naruto turn to Hinata.<p>

Sasuke watches.

Naruto squeezes the life out of her, grinning wildly, and Hinata laughs and hugs him back as much as she can. But this time, after he lets her go, he swoops in and places a kiss on her cheek, which immediately flushes red as she gapes at him. She automatically shrinks a bit, shielding herself with hands clasped tightly to her chest, wide-eyed.

Sasuke glances over at Kiba, who everyone knows has a big-brother complex for the girl, but the wolfish boy is already engaged in a drinking game with Ino. Shikamaru is watching, but disinterestedly, as if he has calculated the odds and has a good idea of who is going to win. Chouji sits beside him, encouraging Ino between slurps of ramen. Finally Sasuke looks at Sakura, and sees that she too is watching Naruto and Hinata, with a strange look on her face.

Naruto laughs elatedly at Hinata's blush and tells her she's too cute for her own good, smiling that sunny smile. Sasuke can practically see her hopes rise.

What happens next, Sasuke couldn't have planned any better. It's as if Naruto is reading from a script Sasuke gave him, playing the lead in a movie about a boy who does everything absolutely wrong. Naruto turns to Sakura, and asks her on a date.

Sakura's answer is an automatic "no", like always, but this time she looks appalled. She knows Naruto isn't serious. She knows she is a tool in Naruto's ploy to make Hinata jealous, to make her want him more.

Not for the first time, Sasuke marvels at Naruto's capacity for cruelty.

And, even more perfectly, it's working. Hinata bites her lip, an overwhelming sadness seeping into her eyes. Naruto, now pleading and listing all of Sakura's virtues (with a wide smile on his face), does not turn back to her once. He doesn't want to give the game up. So he does not see Sasuke slip off his barstool.

This has to be quick.

He takes Hinata by the wrist, ignoring her flinch, leading her away from the others. Sakura's eyes flick to them as they pass. Sasuke would like to think that the shock, the outrage on her face is not even half of what Naruto will feel, but it's a good start.

He leads Hinata to an empty street, boarded-up shops and long-settled dust. He sits down on a bench, and she hesitates for a moment before she does the same, sitting about as far away from him as possible. She's afraid, not because he's who he is, but because he is male and he's not Naruto and she is hurt.

They sit in silence for a moment. "How long?" he asks, knowing the answer but wanting it from her.

When she looks up, her eyes are shining with unshed tears. "W-What?"

"How long have you been in love with him?"

Hinata presses her knuckles to her mouth for a moment, as if drawing strength from them. "Since we were very young," she whispers.

Memories have been coming back to him of this quiet, unexceptional girl; when he looked at his classmates, they looked back at him. She didn't. She was staring at something else. Something just to the left, or just to the right.

He glances over at her. Her moonstone eyes are lowered in her unhappiness, hands in her lap, weepy and vulnerable. She toys with the fur hem of her jacket. He doesn't think she knows why he brought her here. There is no nervousness, no anticipation, just simple and uncomplicated heartbreak. She doesn't know what happens between boys and girls on empty streets when the sun is just sinking below the horizon. She chews her lower lip, and he watches it swell with blood, red just under the seashell surface.

_.:He's going to bite her, break into that perfect seashell, make her __**bleed**__:._

"He doesn't love you," Sasuke comments.

She looks up, startled.

"You're wasting your time," he continues.

Hinata's chin quivers. "I know," she whispers, but he thinks she doesn't, not really.

"He'll only ever love Sakura."

"I know," she repeats, and a single tear slips down her cheek.

He moves closer to put a hand on her shaking shoulder. "Does it hurt?" he asks quietly.

A tiny sob is wrenched from her, bringing with it the last of her strength. She nods.

"It doesn't have to."

She looks up again, not seeming to notice that he is closer still, all her thoughts focused on how her heart is tearing and how much she wants it to stop. _Save me,_ her eyes say.

He gives her no time to rethink, to back away. The hand on her shoulder slides to the back of her neck, and he pulls her to him.

At first it is feather-light and barely there, a brush of lips, so brief that she doesn't fully understand what's happening yet. She is lulled by the contact, the warmth. It is a nice kiss, until it isn't.

The press of his lips becomes firmer, and then it is hard as he moves his mouth. Now she knows what is happening and it is too late. He swipes his tongue across her bottom lip, and she doesn't understand what that means, confused and a little frightened. He does bite her then, harder than he should have, lighter than he wants to, and she finally opens her mouth. His tongue pushes in, and she makes a small noise at the new sensation.

And then, it is no longer his kiss but theirs as she attempts to match him. The delicate, tentative brush of her tongue makes his fingers twitch on the back of her neck, a bolt of heat streaking through him. She tastes not sweet, like he might have imagined, but like tea and cream and innocence. The kiss becomes bruising.

He pulls away abruptly and she follows him a little, her eyes fluttering open dazed and dreamy. Her mouth is red and wet, out of place on her otherwise pale and innocent face. She absently licks her lips.

_.:Did you like that because it was nice? Or because it wasn't?:._

Sasuke stands, offers her his hand, and she takes it trustingly, hesitating only because she is still dizzy and disorientated. They walk back to the group, not saying a word, and he drops her hand before they are spotted. As they approach he is pleased to see that only two people have noticed their absence, the only two that matter.

Sakura stares, disbelieving. Naruto is glancing around, frowning, but upon seeing them his expression is wiped entirely blank. Hinata fidgets, highly distressed now that reality has come back to her, but Sasuke takes her wrist again and guides her to the far end of the bar, away from his teammates. When he sits down he brushes shoulders with Kiba, who looks at him, then Hinata, cheeks flushed with sake and eyebrows drawn. He's trying to decide if they've always been there, and opens his mouth, but his attention is diverted when Shikamaru and Chouji erupt in cheers as Ino downs three shots in a row.

Hinata sits rigidly beside him, barely managing a "no thanks" when the ramen girl asks for her order. "Share with me," Sasuke commands more than asks. With a helpless glance to Naruto, she nods miserably. They eat udon from the same bowl. Isolated from the others, Hinata has no choice but to talk to him.

"When are you free?" Sasuke says, low enough so that Kiba wouldn't hear even if he wasn't wasted.

Hinata pales. "I, I can't," she says instead of answering his question.

"Why not?"

"I…" she glances again to the other end of the bar, but Sasuke is blocking her view.

"You don't like me?" Sasuke murmurs, and stops himself from smirking when she panics.

"No – I mean yes, I mean – I just – "

"I want to go out with you again. I'm taking you to lunch."

Hinata's mouth moves soundlessly, but he can see the words she can't quite seem to form. An endless loop of _But I love Naruto-kun. _All she manages is the name. "N-Naruto-kun…"

"Naruto would be unhappy that you insist on loving him when he can never love you back," Sasuke says bluntly, and she flinches. Interesting. Has no one ever told her this before? Have they just let her think it's a good idea to faithfully devote her entire life to a boy in love with someone else? What great fucking friends.

He inclines his head towards the other end of the table, listening but not looking. Among the dissonance of slurred teenage voices he can't find Naruto's distinctive raspy tones. He pictures Naruto sitting there beside Sakura, silently, staring at Hinata and wondering why she isn't sitting beside him, quietly loving him with all her heart, like she's supposed to.

Hinata looks up at Sasuke, and he looks back, willing her to listen to him. _Be grateful, Hyuga. I'm doing you a favor._

But her deceptively blank eyes shine with emotion, and he already knows what she's going to say.

* * *

><p>Hinata looks up at Sasuke, and for the first time in her life sees him wholly as himself, not an extension of the man she loves. He is a separate entity with his own thoughts and feelings, and he wants to see her again. And he maybe even likes her. He kissed her. They kissed.<p>

The thought makes her light-headed and she distracts herself by chasing noodles with her chopsticks. It hadn't mattered before that Naruto would never love her, because she was happy to be his friend and admire him from afar, just knowing that he knew her feelings. She finds comfort in the fact that her love might make his life better. But if her love makes him unhappy…

She can move on. She has to move on, for his sake.

"Okay," she says quietly.

"Hn." Sasuke steals a noodle from her. His response throws her off. No fanfare, no jubilance, like there would be if he was Naruto and she was Sakura. But they aren't, and she can't keep thinking like that, using them as her measuring stick. He is Sasuke, and she is Hinata, and they are going to lunch together.

Okay.

* * *

><p>Naruto walks with Sasuke to his house. He is seething.<p>

In the dark, Sasuke's lips curve into a momentary smile. He can taste Naruto's anger, bitter and righteous and just a bit perturbed, and he inhales it and holds it in like a smoker on a good drag.

"Where did you go with Hinata?" Naruto's voice is deceptively quiet. Again with the tact. _Or is it that you're afraid?_

"The next street over."

"What were you doing."

"Talking."

"About what?" He is getting impatient.

"You."

This must have surprised Naruto, because he doesn't say anything for a minute. "What did she say about me?"

"She was hurt." So far none of this is a lie. Naruto would be proud if he knew. Or not.

Silence again. "I didn't mean…I never wanted to hurt her," Naruto says, softened.

_Liar_, Sasuke thinks amusedly, _you're a sadistic bastard and you like it when she cries for you_. Naruto doesn't speak again until they reach Sasuke's house, where he leaves him with a quiet, "Night, Sasuke."

Sasuke nods once in response, which is rare, but he's in a good mood tonight.

"Wait," Naruto says plaintively before he can even take the first step up the stairs.

Sasuke turns, waits.

"She knows…she has to know…?"

Sasuke waits.

"I..." Naruto swallows. "I like her. A lot. She knows that, right?"

Sasuke's smile is unexpectedly full blown, stretching unused muscles. The air is suddenly cooler, the stars brighter, the angles and lines of the buildings around them more stark; everything is made hard and bright and sharp. Naruto doesn't love her, not like he once claimed to love Sakura, but it's enough. It's more than enough.

"Maybe," Sasuke says. "Ask her." Because he knows Naruto won't.

"Yeah," Naruto says softly.

Sasuke walks up the stairs to his apartment and knows this is the closest thing to happiness he will ever feel again. He holds onto it for as long as he can.

* * *

><p><strong>Me<strong>: Like it? Hate it? Offer unto me your thoughts.

P.S. Autocorrect wants "Sasuke" to be "Sapsucker".


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: **There is a man in the Allied Shinobi Forces named Santa Yamanaka.

My life is complete.

This takes place only a week after the Ramen Stand Incident, so it's rewinding a bit from the original chapter. So Sasuke and Hinata's relationship isn't common knowledge yet – in fact, there isn't even a relationship to know about. So of course Hinata's all confused about it…and who knows what Sasuke's thinking.

On to the show!

* * *

><p>When she was young, Hinata's auntie told her that men would always want what they could not have. And if she gave favors too easily, they would lose interest, and leave her. But if she was coy, if she withheld her kisses and her smiles, they would always come after her. Always.<p>

Picture Hinata, twelve years old, as she practices this on her teammates. She wants to see if it holds true. She's nervous about it, and she stumbles a bit through the motions, but she gives them small smiles and in return, they seem to want to help her. The loud one smiles back, and offers to carry her things. The quiet one puts his hands in his pockets and offers to walk her home after training. Her smile widens, and this seems to satisfy them. It works. Her auntie was right.

Fast forward to fifteen. Hinata is talking to her mark. He is three years older than her. He is the son of a wealthy lord. He does not have a very active social life; rather, he is sheltered and naïve. This is all to her advantage.

He is a valuable source of information, and in two days she must extract it. Through whatever means necessary.

When they first meet (she bumps into him "accidentally"), she freely gives him smiles. Apologetic ones, pleased ones, shy ones. They are mostly natural. He is a fairly shy boy, like her, so she will have to take initiative. Kurenai warned her it might be like this. So she is prepared. She asks him if he would like to join her for lunch. It is like looking in a mirror as he stammers, flushes, and accepts. He is exactly like her. Except she is not Hinata now. She is just a girl interested in a boy and they are going to lunch, where she will learn what hotel he is staying at and what room and what time he goes to bed and how she can get information from him without killing him.

After lunch, after he has been sweet and shy and forthcoming with information, she leaves him with a light kiss on the cheek. He blushes, darker than before, and as she turns to walk away from him, she sees the small smile that creeps up on his face as he touches the tips of his fingers to the place where she kissed him.

She goes back to her hotel room and cries, without really knowing why.

Two days later, they are at his door. He has just taken her to dinner. She thanks him, demurely casting away her gaze, and he chuckles nervously and says it was no problem. Returning to his face, she sees that he is flushing again, swallowing nervously, shifting around. He is just like her. Except she is not Hinata right now.

She stands up on her tiptoes and gently touches her lips to the corner of his mouth.

Now go to one week ago. It is Sasuke and Hinata's first date.

Hinata is unsure of what to do, as she has never really been on a real date before. One that she was on by choice, and not for a mission. She does not know how to act. They go to dinner at a small café. They sit outside. Hinata is sure that Sasuke does not know what to do either – he does not seem like the dating type.

But to her surprise, he does not seem nervous. He does not seem even a little agitated. So, eventually, she relaxes as well. Half the time is spent in silence, the other half talking quietly. About anything that comes to mind. Trivial things, like missions and hobbies. There are questions she wants to ask him, things she wants to know, but they will wait. The low branch of a sakura tree hangs over her head where they sit, framing the scene in pleasant pink blossoms, and a few birds hop around at their feet, looking for little morsels of food. She feels that talking too much will disturb the utter tranquility of the moment. So she says nothing more.

It is not exciting, or thrilling, but it is nice. She has a good time. She is content. Sasuke offers to walk her home.

It is dusk when they return. They stop at the door to her newly-acquired apartment, and Hinata is oddly reminded of her mark. His name was Taro. He and Sasuke look nothing alike, _are_ nothing alike. She wonders why she thought of him.

When they stop in front of her door, she is prepared to shuffle a bit, blush, keep her gaze away from his face – which is what she is used to. The old routine. It is what she has practiced. Hinata shrinks into herself a bit and thanks him for dinner, not looking at him. This is where she will kiss him. A small peck maybe, or perhaps a few seconds longer. She hasn't decided yet. When Sasuke says nothing, she looks up, and is surprised at the expression on his face. He is smiling. But not her kind of smile. Not a nice smile. His smile is somehow…mocking.

He pushes her up against her door and takes the kiss from her.

She is frozen in shock, just like the first time…just like her first kiss behind the ramen stand. He does not seem to notice.

This is not how it is supposed to go. She is supposed to keep this from him, to hold it above his head and make him work for it. Otherwise, he will lose interest. That is what her auntie told her.

But how can she keep away something that he so easily takes on his own?

It does not last as long as the first time, and before she has a chance to even try to formulate a plan of action he has stepped back, again smiling that mocking little smile, like he knows what he has done, and revels in it. Like he absolutely adores the look of confusion and the tiniest hint of horror on her face. She is used to being treated like a lady, like the heiress of the Hyuga clan. Boys wait for her consent, because they are gentleman and would never dream of attempting to do anything she did not initiate.

Sasuke is not a gentleman.

She is still backed up against her door, and when that terrible smile widens a bit, she feels like the stammering, confused, helpless teenager she was but a short time ago. She is not in her realm anymore – she is in his.

When she looks back on it, she sees that this was his way of letting her know how it would be between them from then on.

He turns away from her and walks down the stairs, disappearing into the night without another word.

Funny, she didn't even notice it was dark out.

* * *

><p>She realizes, as she stands in the Hokage's office, that she's never been on a mission with him.<p>

How odd, really. She's been on missions with just about everyone else from their age group…she's even been on missions with the members of Neji's team.

But not Sasuke.

She has, however, been on missions with Shikamaru. When they leave the Hokage building, their appointed team leader turns to them, not looking particularly pleased with his selected teammates. Hinata winces, wondering if he doesn't want her because she's weak. Sasuke, at least, is powerful. Strong. What does she have to offer?

These thoughts are silly, she knows. She knows that she was chosen because she is a good tracker. She knows that Tsunade does not assemble teams randomly. She knows that she's here for a reason.

But she can't help feeling that, still, she doesn't belong.

In any case, she knows why Shikamaru is displeased with Sasuke.

"We'll leave in about half an hour," the Nara says, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "That enough time for you two?"

Hinata nods. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Sasuke turn his head away. Shikamaru's eyes narrow at this, but he says nothing. "Meet back here," he says, and then he is gone.

Hinata packs light.

* * *

><p>It's still early in the day when they depart, and the Sun is more in front of them than it is above them. Still, it is not enough to penetrate the thick foliage of the forests surrounding Konoha.<p>

As they leap through the trees, Hinata can't stop herself from glancing occasionally at Sasuke.

He is handsome. Pale, with dark features…appealing in a different way than Naruto, who is all sunshine and smiles. While Hinata was never particularly attracted to him before, even she could see that he was good-looking. But…it hadn't meant anything. His appearance was nice to look at, but ultimately it wasn't what she liked, and it wasn't what caught her eye when she looked through a crowd. No…she was looking for bright blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Even that fluorescent orange jumpsuit – everything about Naruto was bright. He was difficult to miss.

She supposes the same goes for Sasuke now – his face is so distinctive, so recognized, that he can't walk down a street in any town without turning heads. Not in the way he used to. She feels a sudden flush of pity for him.

Almost as if he can read her thoughts, he catches her eye. Embarrassed to be caught staring, Hinata turns her gaze forward again.

Shikamaru, who has been going at a steady pace until now, suddenly holds up a hand.

Sasuke and Hinata land on the same branch, waiting. Shikamaru is still for a moment. "Hinata," he says.

Hinata immediately activates her Byakugan, vision sharpening and color fading into grey. She searches, zooming in, sifting through the colorless forest before she spots two blue flames, far ahead. "Two of them, approximately half a kilometer away," she says. She zooms in further. The chakra flame is dim. "Their chakra signals are weak," she says, keeping her eyes trained on them. The two forms move at a slow pace, leisurely, along the forest floor. "They don't appear to be shinobi."

Shikamaru, crouched on the branch ahead of them, stands. "Best to stear clear just in case," he says, though his tone indicates that he no longer finds them an immediate threat. Most likely they are travelers, either lost or taking the scenic route.

They resume their pace, veering to the left as they near the two civilians.

While Hinata feels a little more secure about her position on this team, she has to remind herself to stay alert. If Shikamaru sensed those two before she did, then she isn't doing her job as a tracker. And to be caught staring at Sasuke…how unprofessional, not to mention humiliating.

Either way, she needs to focus.

* * *

><p>Hinata has only been on one other A-rank mission, and even then she was in a larger group. This is one of her first missions as a Jounin, and she is eager to prove herself, at the same time she is nervous about the high level of difficulty.<p>

She apologizes later to Shikamaru for not sensing the two civilians, and compliments him on his own sensory abilities.

Shikamaru, who had been drinking from a canteen, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's fine," he says. "And I didn't stop you because I sensed them…I was just doing a routine check of the area." He admits, flashing her his signature lazy smirk. "No worries."

Reassured, Hinata gives him a smile in return, and he hands her his canteen.

While not exactly friends, she and Shikamaru are on good terms.

From across the fire, Sasuke watches them with indifferent eyes.

* * *

><p>Hinata has first watch.<p>

The night is crisp and clear, a whisper of the coming winter flavoring the air. They are traveling to Takigakure, in the north. Their objective is to locate and retrieve a missing-nin rumored to be hiding out in the village; but their other task is to reaffirm the power of the Land of Fire. It's one thing if the missing-nin is hiding there, but it's another thing if he is being housed by Takigakure knowingly. This is why she was picked, instead of another tracker like Kiba or Shino. And this is why, so soon after his parole, Sasuke was allowed to go on a high-rank mission. The Land of Fire still holds some of the best shinobi in the land, including those of the Hyuga clan – and the Uchiha. The Nara clan is also widely known throughout the shinobi world for their intelligence and strategical prowess, and is often cited as the reason Konohagakure is so difficult to defeat. If Takigakure has forgotten that, then they need to be reminded.

A Nara, a Hyuga, and the last Uchiha.

Enough to strike fear into any shinobi's heart.

Hinata pulls her knees closer to her chest, not knowing how to feel about that. Although she is honored to be chosen for this mission, she cannot help but feel that she is a token. Like she has always been. A token heiress for her clan, the token girl on her team, the token Hyuga for a mission. Replaceable. Nothing particularly special, just a title that another person could fill if something were to happen to her.

She sets her mouth in a grim line. If that's the case, then she just has to make herself indispensable; someone they'll never be able to replace.

When Shikamaru comes to relieve her, she returns to the campsite to find that Sasuke is still awake, sharpening a kunai by the fire. He glances up as she approaches, but she avoids his eyes.

She sits down across from him, warming herself by the dim flame. She glances up at the moon, high in the sky. "Y-You should sleep," she suggests quietly to Sasuke.

"I did," he replies.

Hinata does not argue. It is not her place to tell him how much sleep he needs.

She feels uncomfortable, sitting here with him, and doesn't quite know why. It's not like Sasuke is someone she's never met. It shouldn't be that hard to talk to him…after all, they have kissed two times now.

"What are we?" She says suddenly.

He looks up, and she regrets her words. She can feel her face heat up, and hopes the color is lost in the glow of the fire. "I-I mean…" she swallows. "Are we together?" She blushes deeper at the question, at how immature and silly it sounds.

"No," Sasuke says simply.

She tries to keep her voice steady, but ultimately fails. "A-Ah." She ducks her head, wishing she had never said anything. She feels stupid and naïve. But if they're not together…then what are they? Friends? Strangers? She finds that a little hard to stomach, seeing as how he's taken her first two kisses. She can't accept that they're just _nothing_.

"Do you want to be together?"

She looks up, stunned.

Sasuke is looking at her as well, dark eyes fixed on her face. He seems serious. She finds her voice. "I…I don't know," she says hesitantly, wishing her cheeks weren't so hot.

She's unable to look away as he sets down the kunai he's been working on and walks over to her. He sits beside her on the log, elbows resting on his knees. For a few seconds he just looks at her, and she looks back, and his eyes are so dark.

She isn't all that surprised when he draws her close, but for some reason she is surprised to feel his mouth on hers. His kiss is different. Not gentle, but not unpleasant. Soon enough her eyes are falling closed, and she is leaning in to him, having at least some idea of what to do now.

That's three times.

A sound catches her attention, and she breaks the kiss, whipping her head in the direction of the noise. Shikamaru is standing there, an unreadable expression on his face. "I came back for some water," he says dryly.

Hinata can only stare at him, eyes wide, her heart in her stomach. If she thought staring at Sasuke was embarrassing…

Sasuke, for his part, looks unperturbed. He gazes steadily at Shikamaru, who looks back at him with what could be any number of expressions, none of them positive; but then the shadow user turns away to look through his backpack for his canteen. Hinata wishes the ground would swallow her up.

When Shikamaru leaves, Sasuke moves away from her, going back to sharpening his weapons. "You should sleep," he says.

All Hinata can do is nod and return to her sleeping bag, willing her face to cool down and her heart to stop thudding so hard.

* * *

><p>The rest of the mission goes by without a hitch.<p>

Takigakure apparently had no idea the missing-nin was in their midst, but even so they are suitably cowed when Shikamaru leads his team of dojutsu users up the steps to the daimyo's house.

Clever, really, to send a team of highly skilled jounin to retrieve a less-skilled missing nin in a land that has always been a thorn in Konoha's side. A little transparent, maybe, but perhaps that's the point.

In any case, Shikamaru chalks it up to a success when they find the man hiding out in a tea shop and are able to incapacitate him without causing the shop and surrounding buildings too much damage.

For convenience's sake they keep him drugged and carry him in turns, stopping to scout the area often to make sure he doesn't have any accomplices waiting to ambush them and rescue him. It's not a challenging mission, mentally or physically, and Shikamaru, as with many things he finds boring, simply goes through the motions.

But it's bothering him…his teammates.

He hadn't been exactly excited to find that his teammates were Hinata and Sasuke, but it was a mission and he had no right to complain about it. And if he did, he wasn't going to. Besides, Hinata wasn't so bad. She could be a little trying at times, but she was likeable and a capable shinobi.

Sasuke, on the other hand…

Since the Uchiha had been brought back to the village, Shikamaru had had minimal interaction with him. Partly by choice, partly by chance. Their circumstances were such that they were rarely brought in close contact, but when they were Shikamaru made sure to steer clear of the other male. He had, after all, been such a trouble for them on the retrieval mission…nearly killed them all. You don't forget someone you almost died for.

And Shikamaru didn't even really like the guy to begin with.

But to walk back to the campsite for his canteen and come across Sasuke and Hinata _kissing_…was beyond weird. Downright unexplainable.

First of all, it was odd to see Sasuke kissing anyone, period. If he ever thought about – which he hadn't – Shikamaru would've guessed it would be Sakura. It made sense. But even then it didn't really seem likely…Sasuke was, for lack of a better expression, made of ice. Sure, he bruised and broke and bled like a human being, but that was about it. Sasuke had always seemed to him to be something beyond human. Not above the rest of them, like a god, but maybe more of an alien: different. To see him engaging in such a human act as kissing was, he has to admit, jarring. To think that Sasuke has human needs, that he functions the same as the rest of them, is still an odd concept for Shikamaru.

And second of all…Hinata. What Shikamaru can't wrap his head around is the idea that Hinata has ever considered anyone but Naruto. It's just a fact: Hinata is attracted to Naruto. There doesn't seem to be room for anyone else. Not her teammates, not her peers, not even village boys. She has eyes for Naruto, and Naruto only, and Shikamaru supposes that for those who knew her, that is a natural deterrent. If anyone had romantic inclinations towards her, surely they were discouraged by her affection for the exuberant blonde. It is such an overwhelming and obvious devotion that anyone who is interested would immediately be intimidated.

He himself has never found Hinata particularly attractive, but she's pretty enough. She has some appeal, just not for him.

(She does for Sasuke, apparently.)

And how had Sasuke, if his inclinations were romantic and not something else, not become discouraged by Hinata's infatuation with Naruto? And furthermore, how had he distracted her from it long enough to steal a kiss (the thought of which still makes Shikamaru frown)?

He has a keen mind, but this is…beyond him.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. Whatever is going on here, he isn't going to get involved.

That isn't to say he doesn't wholeheartedly disapprove of the whole thing; he just isn't going to involve himself.

When they get back to the village and deposit the missing-nin at the interrogation center, Ino catches his gaze with that look in her eye – she will want to know everything later. He sighs mentally. She'll badger him and bother him until her voice is hoarse, but he won't tell her anything interesting.

It's not his business, and it's not hers.

As they part ways, Sasuke leaving without a word, Hinata waving shyly to him, Shikamaru just hopes Hinata knows what she's doing.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>Shikamaru is awesome. Him and Kiba. I dunno – I got a thing for sharp eyes and small pupils.

Pretty different from the original chapter 4, huh? Originally this rewritten chapter was going to be about Naruto, and more similar to the training scene in chapter 5 than anything else. But then I scrapped it all and completely rewrote it.

Hurray for clean slates!

I wonder why Sasuke chose that exact moment to kiss Hinata…?


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: **I may or may not have completed this at 2 in the morning. It may or may not suck. You be the judge of that.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Tsunade is not by any means an irrational woman. Being the Hokage means keeping calm in times of crisis and directing her village with a level head.<p>

That does not mean, however, that she is not without a very nasty temper.

Her hands are slammed down on the desk as she snaps up from her seat, pushing it back with a scraping sound. "Absolutely not," she snarls.

Shizune shifts away from her, expression uneasy, holding Tonton tightly.

Uchiha Sasuke bears her immediate refusal with no disappointment, no anger, no discernible feeling at all. He says nothing, waiting for her to speak, which she does at once.

"You are a criminal, a traitor, and the only reason you are standing in front of me now is because Naruto feels you can be reformed. I, however, do not. I will _not_ allow you to join Jounin ranks," she thunders, glaring at him.

He is again unfazed by her accusations. "Hokage," he begins, "I am not asking to be given access to village documents. I am not asking for a seat on the Council. I am not requesting permission to enter and exit Konoha as I please. I am asking to join the Hidden Leaf ninja force. You are in need of capable shinobi."

Here she interrupts him. "You are not in a position to tell me what I need," she hisses.

A raised eyebrow the only indication he has heard her, he goes on. "Your ranks have been depleted during the war. Your alliance with the other shinobi villages has dissolved, and they will be watching for any sign of weakness. You need me, if only to say that you have me."

The blonde woman's eyes narrow. The boy isn't stupid. He knows, of course, that he was only given the mission to Takigakure because of his name. Not only his clan name, but his name in its entirety, which has become synonymous with power, fear, and many less pleasant things. It's true that she was using him to intimidate the non-shinobi village. And it's true that while he is dangerous, he is also an invaluable asset. She can't keep assigning her ninja to watch him. They are needed on other missions.

She already sent him out on a Jounin-level mission; one he wasn't even supposed to be on. What does rank matter, anyway? For God's sake, he's one of the strongest shinobi in the world, and he's still technically a Genin.

And he always will be, if her suspicions are correct: no other shinobi village will house him for the Chunin exams. And if the exams are held in Konohagakure, other villages may even refuse to participate alongside him. But if he doesn't participate in the exams, he won't be recognized as a Chunin. She can't just _give_ him the title.

But she can appoint him as a Jounin.

Oh, he's a clever little bastard, isn't he? Sitting there with that blank expression, like he hadn't pledged to kill her Council less than a year ago. Thinking he can persuade her to let him join her shinobi and work for her village. Well, she doesn't trust him with either. She leans forward, amber eyes narrowed, about to tell him exactly what she thinks of him –

And she catches herself.

She's not sure why; Tsunade will readily admit that she is not one for thinking before speaking. But something in his eyes, or maybe his face, stops her. He's very…young. It strikes her then, as she looks at him, that he is the same age as Naruto. She already knew this, such a simple fact, but somehow she had…disregarded it. He is a boy, the same as Naruto, the same as all the Rookie Nine. And Naruto is just 19 years old. When she looks at Naruto, his youth registers with her, as well as the fact that while he is no longer an adolescent, he is far from a mature adult. When she looks at Sasuke…she doesn't see age. She doesn't see his youth. She only feels hatred. She only sees a monster.

Is this what everyone else sees, as well?

What does Naruto see?

Her expression settles, and she straightens up calmly. "The Council will most likely say no," she tells him. "They don't like you any more than I do." But they do have differing opinions on Sasuke, she thinks. Homura will want him to stay confined to the village. Koharu, on the other hand, might be convinced, being the more pragmatic of the two and more concerned with the defense of Konoha from outside forces.

Tsunade sits back down, suddenly tired. She has bigger problems to deal with than this brat…but unfortunately, they may all be made better or worse depending on what she decides what to do with him. "I have to be able to trust my Jounin," she says finally. "I don't trust you. You are to stay in the village, pending further discussions, unless given permission by myself to leave for a mission." She laces her fingers under her chin. "Got that?"

Sasuke nods.

"Good," she says. "Now get out of my office."

* * *

><p>Naruto is at home, alone, staring up at his ceiling and wondering what to do. The sky outside is dark, and his clock reads 10:00. He's already eaten dinner, already taken a shower, and has not been having much luck at falling asleep.<p>

Naruto usually tries to keep busy. Busy is good. Busy means occupation, occupation means little free time; because when he has too much free time, he starts thinking. And lately he's only been thinking about one thing.

She's pretty, Hinata is.

She's pretty, with her long dark hair, and her pale skin, and her big white eyes. She's pretty with her pink lips, and her red cheeks, and her shy smile. She's always been cute, no denying that, but more of a small-animal-cute than an attractive cute.

But it's different now…she's not exactly beautiful, he thinks, but she's close. Maybe that's what makes her so pretty. She's too shy, too innocent to be beautiful. He had always equated beauty with confidence. Women who were beautiful _knew_ they were beautiful, and that in turn made them more beautiful. Hinata doesn't seem to be much aware of her looks.

But she _is_ pretty. The kind of pretty that was meant to be touched. (Beautiful girls aren't meant to be touched: beautiful girls are meant to be looked at and admired.) Hinata is the kind of pretty that makes him want to stroke her hair, cradle her cheek in his palm, press kisses to her face…

He's already done that last one. He kissed her cheek two weeks ago, at Ichiraku. He just couldn't resist; she makes adorable faces when she's flustered. Although…maybe he shouldn't have blown her off for Sakura right afterwards. That might have been a little mean. But it was even worse to see her come back from who-knows-where with Sasuke, who insisted they were "just talking", which he doesn't buy for a minute; bastard was probably threatening her. Naruto frowns. He doesn't know what to do with Sasuke…

And he doesn't know what to do with Hinata. She's a good friend, but they're not really all that close. Sure, he trusts her completely and would never hesitate to help her out, but they're not…close. She won't _let_ him get close. He's tried to loosen her up, joke around with her a bit, but she always blushes and shies away from him. He doesn't understand.

And lately, he's been trying even harder; trying to let her know he likes her. Because…he does. He _likes_ her. Maybe it's not love, but it's something, right? Isn't that what she wants? Doesn't she love him? When he went in to kiss her, she tensed up and flushed red, like she always does – but it sort of hurt this time. Because he was really trying. Wasn't that what she wanted from him? So he turned to Sakura, and hid his hurt and confusion in a cheerful bid to get a date. And he didn't need to look back at Hinata's face; he could almost feel her wide, wounded gaze on the back of his head. Hurt like he was. And it made him feel…good. Powerful.

Immediately he sits up in bed, eyes wide. No, that's not right. That's bad. It's bad to think that way about your friends. What's wrong with him?

He stands, begins pacing.

He would never hurt Hinata…Hinata is the nicest girl in the village. The sweetest, the kindest, the most forgiving and blameless and honest and oh god, he knows he shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have tried to make her jealous, but for once it was good to be the one in control, the one who could make someone else cry for a change –

_Oh Kami._

He stops pacing, then starts again in earnest. No, that's bad, that's horrible, he's a horrible person, only horrible people have those kinds of thoughts.

He – he needs something. Something to calm him down. Something to stop him from thinking so much. Naruto suddenly wishes he was a smoker. Smoking would help. It helps Shikamaru, doesn't it? Hey, it's never too late to start, right? Right?

Damn it, he doesn't own any cigarettes. He's never smoked in his life.

Alcohol? Does he have alcohol?

Already he's running for the kitchen, opening cupboards, checking the refrigerator, looking for something – anything – a beer maybe – he's gotta have something around here – c'mon, c'mon, doesn't he have anything, sake, how about whiskey, even wine, even vodka, anything –

He stands there in the middle of his cold kitchen, panting, shivering in his boxers, looking around at all the empty cabinets and the sparse food in the fridge, and feels disjointed. Out of control.

What does he think he's doing?

He half walks, half stumbles back to his bedroom, suddenly tired and weary. He doesn't want to think anymore – he just wants to sleep. He crawls under his sheets, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for his heartbeat to slow and steady out.

He's just tired, he tells himself. He'll go to bed, and sleep this off, and in the morning he'll be thinking normally again.

When the first rays of dawn peek over the tops of the buildings, Naruto is still awake, blue eyes trained on the ceiling and his heart in his throat.

* * *

><p>House arrest is boring for him.<p>

He's only allowed to train with Sakura or Naruto, and neither of them are exactly jumping at the chance to spend time with him. Sure, they put on smiles for his sake – Naruto, mostly – but they can't hide the fact that they're not sure what to do with him now.

Sasuke doesn't fit. He doesn't belong.

And he doesn't particularly want to.

Sure, he could train with Kakashi…but he's usually not in the mood to get indirectly lectured by his old sensei via casual comments with double meanings. In fact, he's actually never in the mood for Kakashi's passive-aggressive bullshit.

So most of his time is spent alone, in his house, doing nothing.

His muscles are probably already starting to atrophy from lack of use; he's used to working them every day, for most of the day. He was at peak physical condition – minus a little problem with his vision that he's going to ignore for now – when he met Naruto again…when they nearly killed each other (again). And he hasn't done any actual physical labor since the mission to Takigakure. The fact that he hasn't gone outside in two days now, except to talk with Tsunade, should concern him.

In fact, it doesn't. Except for a mild irritation at being babysat like an adolescent, he has been frighteningly docile. That's the _real_ problem – he's become complacent. He has to get out of this village; he has to fight again. His fingers twitch sporadically, grasping a sword that isn't there; his veins tingle with the absence of lightning running through them.

Only one more week until he's free. Relatively so. At the very least, he won't have strangers watching his house 24/7 to ensure his "safety".

There's a knock on his door. He sets down the scroll he's been reading, curious. The fact that his visitor made it to the doorstep means that they've been cleared by the two Anbu stationed outside his home. They haven't cleared anyone to see him since Naruto visited a few days ago. Usually when people visit him they are turned away because they obviously have a bone to pick with him – even little old ladies toting baskets with muffins are thoroughly searched. Not that any little old ladies bearing baked goods have come to visit him since he was released from prison.

At first, the majority of the villagers wanted him dead. After his fight with Naruto, after he was properly healed, and then subsequently thrown in jail, they all gathered outside the facility, protesting his very existence. Hanging, electrocution, lethal injection – they were willing to condone anything to stop his heart from beating. They wanted retribution for all the lives he'd taken.

He hasn't killed that many people, actually. And none from Konoha. It wasn't really that the villagers wanted him to pay for his crimes; it was that they didn't want him committing any more. They feared him. They wanted him gone, so they didn't have to worry about him anymore.

But Naruto, hero of Konoha, stood in front of them, and gave a speech. He talked about forgiveness, and brotherhood, and second chances. And he won over the hearts of the people. Funny thing: Sasuke didn't even hear it. He was a little busy at the time. Being locked up in a high-security prison and all.

In any case, the villagers respected Naruto, and they respected his wishes. Now, instead of openly attacking Sasuke on the street, they come to his door with a knife hidden up their sleeve.

He walks to the door, opens it, and finds Hyuga Hinata there.

She looks up at him with wide eyes, as if surprised to see that he actually answered the door. Maybe she has a point – he probably wouldn't have answered it if he wasn't so sick of seeing the same goddamn faces all the time. Hers is a welcome change. "Sasuke-san," she greets finally.

He leans against the doorframe, waiting.

She inhales, once, calming herself. "I…I have an answer for you," she says.

He tilts his head to one side. "Oh?" His voice is unimpressed.

If she notices, she doesn't let it deter her. "I think we should get to know each other first, before considering being together." She states firmly, and he can tell that this is a line she has practiced, perhaps many times, in anticipation of this moment.

He would smirk, but he's too busy admiring how good false courage looks on her.

The Anbu are, of course, watching from the trees, ready to act. Sure, she's Hyuga Hinata, heiress to the most prestigious clan in Konoha, a good girl by anyone's standards – but everyone hates Uchiha Sasuke. Even good girls.

He decides he wants them to see this.

Her surprised squeak when he kisses her is more amusing than it should be, but he presses on, cupping the back of her head to prevent her from moving away. But she isn't. She's not quite kissing him back, but she's trying her very hardest not to panic and faint. Still trying to maintain that façade of confidence and poise…

He wonders how long it'll last.

He releases the back of her head, pushing her curtain of inky hair out of the way, and kisses her neck. It's just a press of his lips to her skin but still she stiffens, already fighting the urge to shove him away, to a safe distance. He draws back and watches her blush and fidget, her confidence exhausted in the face of new, unfamiliar territory.

"Fine," he says passively, and her eyes take a moment to focus on his. "We're together. Come by again tomorrow."

Her eyes widen and her lips part, as if she is about to protest –

He closes the door, and walks back to the living room, pleased with himself. He flops down on the couch, picks up the scroll and resumes his reading. After a few minutes, he realizes he's not really reading, just staring blankly at the words. With a shrug, he abandons the scroll, tossing it onto his table before wandering away to find something else to occupy his time. He's read that one before, anyway.

* * *

><p>If there's one thing Ino won't miss about the hospital, it's the smell.<p>

Eugh, she hates the smell of disinfectant and disease. I mean, she loves the work, it's great to help people, but sometimes it's sort of a bummer when your date keeps claiming he smells cleaning products while you're trying to have a romantic evening in a fancy restaurant.

Not that it'll be any better when she smells overwhelmingly like coffee pulling extra shifts at the Intelligence Division.

She'll miss her coworkers, though.

"It's really great that they're promoting you," Hinata says sincerely, lathering her hands with soap. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, kiddo," Ino flashes her a smile, reaching over to turn off the water. "But it's not really a promotion. Ibiki just thought, and I quote, 'that Yamanaka girl should be pulling more weight around here.'" Ino imitates the man's gruff voice, rolling her eyes.

Hinata giggles. "That was a very good Ibiki," she comments teasingly.

Ino glances at her. "You think so? It should be, considering how often I have to listen to him yelling his head off." She sticks a pinky in her ear, wincing as she recalls the volume.

It's Ino's last shift, and she'll be sad to leave. She likes working here; the pay is decent, the nurses are friendly, she gets to work alongside her friends, and it's a rewarding experience. Originally, she'll admit, she only wanted to learn medical ninjutsu so she could keep up with Sakura. Now, she truly enjoys helping out at the hospital. But she's a Yamanaka, and her talents are best used elsewhere. The people at the Intelligence Division are nice, too…

…okay, so most of the guys over there are arrogant assholes. Ibiki is a slave driver. Her father is…her father.

But she likes the work. It's noble, and it's what she does best.

"I really will miss you guys," she says to Hinata, opening her locker. As she is not an official nurse, she doesn't have to wear the uniform. She can wear her regular clothes, thank god, she just has to wear a standard white apron over them.

"We'll miss you too," Hinata says softly. Technically Sakura is their superior, and has a different schedule than they do, but oftentimes they overlap and the three of them manage to find five minutes for a break to talk.

It's been fun, working with the both of them, having such similar lives…but she has to branch off now. She can't be following Sakura forever. She has to have her own career, her own thing. Sakura is a medic, and a damn fine one. Ino is an interrogator. Hinata…

Hinata has a clan to lead.

Ino winces, retracts that thought. Maybe. She _maybe_ has a clan to lead. She is the most viable candidate, and – although of course it's not any of her business, she just heard it around, you know – Hinata's father has begun to accept her as the heiress. Or at least maybe trust her enough not to brand her with the Hyuga Cursed Seal.

Whoops. She's technically not supposed to know that.

Ino sneaks a glance at Hinata as they go through their rounds. She looks distracted. Poor girl. It's a lot of pressure to be the heiress. Not that she would know, her father has plans to live for a long, long time, and won't teach her _anything_ about running a clan, stubborn old man… Although, she supposes she probably wouldn't like clan work. A lot of memorization of stupid old rules.

The Hyuga probably have stupid old rules coming out their ears.

How Hinata manages to be so positive is baffling. Nothing ever seems to go right for her – all that discouragement in her childhood, everybody telling her she wasn't good enough…except for Naruto. But Naruto's another problem all on his own. After a little bit of prying, she'd managed to find out exactly what Hinata had said to Naruto during the battle with Pain – and wow. To not have an answer to that kind of confession, after all this time, is probably a little disheartening. She didn't know Naruto was that cruel.

Scratch that – she knew Naruto was that _oblivious_.

She's almost done with her shift, making her way to the east wing, when she hears a voice behind her. "Ino! Hey, Ino!"

Hm, speak of the Devil…

She turns just in time to see Naruto catching up to her, slowing down as he approaches. "What is it, Naruto?" she asks. She gives him a quick once-over, raising an eyebrow at him. "You didn't break your ribs again, did you?"

Naruto grins sheepishly. "Ah…not this time. Actually…" He leans in closer. "I was wondering if you could get me medication."

This buys him her full attention, and she turns to him fully. "What for?" she asks suspiciously. He's never outright asked for medication before. He's a remarkably fast healer, and even though he's always complaining about how much it hurts to have his bones reset, he never asks for any pain meds during his frequent stays in the hospital. What could he want with medication now?

He rubs the back of his head, reluctant to answer. "I, uh, can't sleep."

Ino gives him an odd look, but after a moment decides he's overreacting. "Just drink a glass of warm milk or something," she says, rolling her eyes and turning away. "We don't just give out sleeping meds whenever."

Naruto stops her. "No, wait…" he trails off, looking hesitant. "I just…it's been all week. I haven't slept in four days." Something in his voice carries traces of desperation.

Ino blinks. "Oh." That sounds sorta serious. "Naruto, you need to see a doctor about that. I can't help you," she says firmly.

He shakes his head. "No, I don't wanna make a big deal out of it." His eyes search hers beseechingly. "Please?"

Ino grimances. Jeez, how can anyone say no to that sad face? How does Sakura manage to punch him when he looks exactly like a kicked puppy?

She bites her lip nervously, glancing around. "I'm really not supposed to be doing this," she says.

He clasps his hands together, falling to his knees. "_Please_?" he begs.

She backs away immediately, her nose wrinkling. "Naruto, get off the floor." When all he does is stare at her pleadingly, she sighs. "Fine, fine, I'll help you, just stand up."

He jumps to his feet and throws his arms around her exuberantly. "You're the best, Ino!"

She squirms in his hug. "H-Hey, get off me, you idiot!" Finally managing to push him away, she smoothes out her apron and continues in a professional tone. "I can't prescribe you anything – not legally. But…" She stops there, a devious idea having crossed her mind. One last gift to Hinata, before she leaves. Resisting the urge to smirk, she schools her expression into one of complete indifference. "You'll have to go talk to Hinata down in the Medicine Department," she says casually.

Naruto's face falls, indecision wracking his features. "Hinata…?" he murmurs. Ino's eyes narrow. _Oh no – you're not getting away that easily. You're gonna answer her, one way or another. _"Yes, Hinata. She can give you an herbal mixture that might help."

Naruto still looks uneasy, but eventually he nods. "Alright," he says. "I'll go talk to her."

Ino smiles, satisfied with her work. "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me…" she begins walking away, eager to end her shift. Perhaps so she can go listen in on Naruto and Hinata's conversation in a few minutes…perhaps not.

_Ino, you sly fox…_ she congratulates herself as she practically saunters down the hall.

She flounces her ponytail, smiling smugly to herself. _I know._

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>Because who doesn't love an Ino ending.

Quick recap: Sasuke asked for a job, Naruto tried to drown his sorrows in cigarettes and whiskey, Hinata and Sasuke put on a show for some voyeuristic Anbu, and Ino played matchmaker/drug dealer.

This is shaping up to be quite a story.

Leave some love. : )


	4. Chapter 4

**Me:** So in the original story, I found that I didn't really like my flawless-martyr-Hinata; I'm hoping that in this version she is more real, while still retaining many of her character traits. I'd love some thoughts on how I did.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Hinata is restocking medicine when he walks in.<p>

Her first half-thought, before she sees who it is, is that no one should be in here; this room is for personnel only, and she's the only herbalist on the shift.

Her second thought is that _he_ shouldn't be in here.

"Naruto-kun," she says out loud, startled.

He is all wide grin and white teeth. "Hey, Hinata-chan," he says, raising a hand in greeting.

She takes an automatic step back, and they both pretend not to notice. "I…what are you doing here?" she asks before she can stop herself.

His smile falls a bit. "Ino told me to come here and talk to you," he says. "About medication."

Her brow furrows in automatic concern. "What's wrong?" she asks. "Did you break your ribs again?"

Naruto laughs a bit. "I do that a lot, huh?" he murmurs. Then his smile fades completely, and that concerns her most of all.

She turns back to the shelf she was restocking and begins searching through the various bottles. "Well, if they're bothering you, I have some pills – "

He interrupts her. "I didn't break my ribs, it's not for pain," he says quickly. "It's for sleep."

She looks at him, surprised. "O-Oh." She turns. "Do you have a prescription?"

"Well…no," he admits guiltily. His blue eyes connect with hers, and she is reminded of the time she visited the sea when she was a child. It was rainy that day; bleak. "Ino said you could give me some kind of mixture that might help…?"

She doesn't know what to do with her hands, so they end up twisting the hem of her apron. She is suddenly hesitant, unsure. "I…I could make you a tea…" she mumbles.

His relief is palpable. "Great," he says, "Thank you."

She tries to smile back, but it falls as soon as she puts it up. "I just have to m-mix it," she says quietly. "Wait here."

He nods, and moves out of the way for her. She walks past him as quickly as she can, trying not to look like she's eager to leave his company.

Why would Ino send him to her? She could easily have made the tea herself. For one second, she is angry at her blonde friend, but then she squashes the feeling like a bug. No, Ino was just trying to be nice. To help her. Since she's so pathetic she can't manage to land Naruto on her own.

Hinata mixes the ingredients together, promising herself she'll reimburse the hospital for the use of their materials. As she's walking back to the supply room, she passes several nurses, all of whom smile at her. But she swears they know. They can all see it.

_Kissing a traitor? Stealing from a hospital? My, I didn't know you had it in you, Hinata!_ All their smiles seem to say.

She smiles back weakly, her stomach turning over.

Naruto is waiting for her when she gets back, and smiles at her as well. This one, she doesn't return – she pretends not to see it as she looks down at the small container of ingredients in her hand. "Add about a teaspoon of this to 2 cups of boiling water," she says, not looking up. "Steep it for five minutes. Don't strain it, it works better that way." Her hands are shaking.

"Hinata," he says gently, and she shuts her eyes.

She can hear him walk closer; she can feel him in front of her. "I'm sorry about what I did at Ichiraku," he mutters. "That was stupid."

He doesn't specify which part. _He doesn't need to. What was stupid was that you kissed his best friend. And then did it again. And again. And again._

Four times now.

"I can make it up to you," he insists. "I'll take you out to dinner. My treat." His voice is soft and sad. "We don't have to get ramen."

If she could, maybe she would blush. Maybe she would stammer and swoon. Naruto-kun asked me out, Naruto-kun loves me ~

Her cheeks are hot with shame instead. "Naruto…" she tries, but the rest of her sentence gets caught in her throat. Whatever it was going to be.

There's a hand on her cheek, warm and rough. "Hey, you forgot the 'kun'," he jokes with a smile, but she can hear that it's not his usual sunbeam grin. It's an isolated thing, weak and half-hearted, surrounded on either side by silence.

She knows, somehow, what comes next.

After a moment her face is lifted, and then there are lips on hers. She does not open her eyes. He's warm. His mouth moves gently, coaxing her to respond, and she does. This isn't new to her now.

Five – soon she won't have any left to give.

His other hand is in her hair, but her hands are occupied with holding the tea container. His tongue runs a hot trail across her lips, and she opens her mouth for him compliantly. He tastes of sweet summer wind.

They part and her eyes are open, immediately caught in blue. Not bleak now; bright and hopeful, just as she remembers. His smile is gentle as he presses his forehead against hers, sighs her name.

He doesn't ask if it was her first. He doesn't have to. It's a given.

She looks down at the container holding the tea mixture in her hands. It was silly to be worried about it, she thinks idly. It's just tea. She'll replace the ingredients tomorrow; no one has to know. It'll be like it never happened, like she never stole…a fresh start.

Hinata looks up and smiles at him.

Not five. One.

* * *

><p>If there's one thing Sakura was never good at as a Genin – and oh, she can think of more than one thing in a heartbeat – it was lying to people.<p>

But she was always very good at lying to herself.

The first few times, she plastered a smile on her face and forced her voice to be high and cheery when she greeted him. Then she wondered why she was doing it – it wasn't like it really mattered to him. He could care less if she was happy to see him or not.

This time, when he opens the door, she's just standing there patiently, waiting for him.

He gives her a once-over; his gaze is cold and clinical, and scrapes at her like a scalpel. "Expecting someone else?" she mutters.

His eyes return to hers. "Yes."

She brushes past him. "Well, it's my turn to visit you," she says airily, taking in his clean apartment. "How've you been, Sasuke?" she asks flatly.

He doesn't answer, but she didn't really expect him to.

"Well," she says at length. "Shall we?"

[||][||][||][||][||][||]

It's been awhile since they've sparred, and she doesn't know the extent of his abilities; so she keeps her distance for a bit, assessing the situation.

Sasuke had been relying on his dojutsu very heavily when she and Naruto had fought him most recently. She can understand why; it's his lineage, his clan, kept alive by him, by the use of his Sharingan. It's an intrinsic part of him, and with it he's nearly unstoppable.

Without it, though, he's nothing special.

A swipe at her jugular has her backtracking, not only physically but mentally as well. It doesn't matter if his Sharingan has been sealed away; he's still dangerous. Still Sasuke.

She realizes now that he's not fighting like he usually does. He's striking and pursuing with intent, and he's not going easy on her. It's real enough. But there's no feeling behind it. She's seen him before, when he fights; there's always something. Something in his eyes, something in the way his features shift into place. Smugness. Determination. Anger. Hatred.

There's nothing now. He's simply going through the motions of a fight.

This fills her with disbelief and fury. After all she's done…after all she's been through…

He won't even take their goddamn spar seriously.

The crack of her fist across his jaw is satisfying to the extreme, even better when it sends him whirling. _How's that, you bastard? Am I a threat yet?_

She holds back for a moment, watching. He stops spinning, steadies himself. There is a trickle of blood down the corner of his mouth, and he wipes it away absently, staring at her. His eyes are hard, and she feels a little thrill of gratification. Finally, something.

After a moment, he straightens, and the hardness of his gaze is gone. As if he knows that's what she wanted from him, and isn't willing to let her have it.

Rage wells up inside her, setting her fists ablaze with chakra. She charges at him with a yell, and he sidesteps just as her fist comes towards his face again. At the last second, she releases the chakra in her right hand and plants it on the ground, transferring the power to her left foot as she swings it back towards his face. He catches it before it can connect and pulls, gripping her ankle and flinging her over his shoulder.

She goes flying, managing to right herself just before she hits a tree, turning and kicking it to halt her trajectory. She kicks off the tree and lands on her feet, watching the tall pine fall from the force of her strike for just half a second too long.

Sasuke is already behind her, and instinctively she dives forward, the tip of his katana stinging across her back. She plants both her hands on the ground and does a forward handspring, immediately taking off running. She anticipates that any second Sasuke will appear in front of her, and she braces herself for this; but instead, she hears him again just behind her, and barely has time to flinch before he is grabbing her by the back of her neck and throwing her towards the ground.

He doesn't have quite the strength she does, but the earth still cracks when her body strikes it.

She is spitting up dirt when he walks up behind her. Quickly she tries to stand, but his katana presses into the small of her back and keeps her still.

"You've been training," he comments.

It's the closest thing to a compliment she's received from him in a long time, and somewhere inside her, relief bubbles up. _Yes. I've been training. All this time, I've been training. To keep up with you. Both of you._

"I wonder why you bothered," he says.

Stunned, she turns her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye. He's standing over her body, feet planted on either side of her hips, sword held loosely in his grasp. She sees and feels the sharp blade trace the cut he had given her before. "I wonder what you thought it would accomplish," he continues in his blank tone.

Enraged, she twists and swats the sword out of his hand, kicking up between his legs – but he jumps back before she can. She jumps up as well and tackles him to the ground, pinning his arms with her knees and punching him. His head snaps to the side, and she punches him with her other fist. Then again. And again, and again, and again, until she's no longer punching but just hitting him sloppily, intent only on damaging his face; hurting him.

She's done so much for him – for them – she's trained, and practiced, and tried so hard, trying to prove herself, to be seen as an equal and not just some girl on their team and how can he even ask her why she did it when she did it all for _him_ –

Suddenly he catches her fists, rolls on top of her. She stares up at him and feels some sick sort of pride at the bruises blooming on his jaw. And suddenly she is very aware of his body hovering over hers, his hands pinning her wrists to the grass. "Get off me," she hisses.

"I thought this was what you wanted," he says coldly. His words imply a smirk, but there's no amusement in his expression.

Wide-eyed, her face burns with humiliation, because he _knows_. He knows that she's thought about this. He knows that when she was young and still maturing, she used to think about him just like this. She used to daydream about him, about her strong handsome Sasuke, silent and lonely. He needed someone; someone like her. She used to picture them together. She used to think about him kissing her, and then, when she was a little older and bold enough to picture it, touching her. Cupping her breasts. Grasping her hips. Touching her where she had only once, in the privacy of her room, dared to touch herself.

She throws him off of her, staggering to her feet and backing away a few steps. "You're wrong," she insists. "I don't want this."

The afternoon sunlight around them seems misplaced. It glints off of Sasuke's hair and eyes, making it seem like there's some sort of light in them. "You're lying," he says dispassionately.

Her face contorts, and she feels like she could hit him again, but immediately the thought of touching him makes her recoil, and she subconsciously takes another step back. "I don't want you," she repeats. "You're a monster."

Her own words give her strength, and she stands straighter. She doesn't want him. He's repulsive, evil, barely human. Just a boy from her past that no longer exists.

He shifts out of his fighting stance, his eyes never leaving hers. "You were never any good at lying," he tells her. "Not to me."

Her vision blurs, and it takes her a second to realize that she is about to cry. No – no, she won't do that. She'll never cry for him again.

He breaks eye contact then, walking to where his katana lies under a tree and picking it up. "Tell yourself what you want," he says, inspecting the blade. _I'm done listening to you_ is implied.

She realizes that he's leaving, that he thinks they're finished, and her hands ball into fists again. "We're not done," she says loudly, nearly a shout.

He glances at her, shrouded in the shadow of the tree, so that no sunlight in his eyes can play tricks on her. "This spar is over." His voice indicates disinterest. She has proven boring for him, and he is done with her now. "Go home."

He sheathes his katana and disappears in a flash, leaving her standing alone in the clearing, with only memories and lies to comfort her.

* * *

><p>He's walking towards his house when the two Anbu appear in front of him. "Hold it," says Crow mask. "Where is Haruno-san?"<p>

Sasuke brushes past him. "She was tired," he says. "She went home."

Waiting on his doorstep is Hinata, and her appearance lifts his mood slightly. He wonders what she has for him today. Shy and mousy, or confident and decisive? Or something new?

Her expression when he approaches doesn't change; remote and passive. "To what do I owe this visit?" he murmurs, opening his door. This time she follows him inside, but stops in the entryway, keeping her distance. "You asked me to come," she points out quietly.

"Hn," he agrees, unstrapping his katana and laying it down on the coffee table.

"Sasuke," she says softly, and this gets his attention. He turns to face her, and waits.

"We're not together," she says. "I never agreed to it."

He puts a hand on his hip. "Then what are you doing here?" He's not particularly pleased with this turn of events.

"I thought I should tell you," she says, voice firm, but in a different way than yesterday. "Naruto and I are in a relationship."

He is silent for a moment, and she bows her head slightly. "I'm very sorry if I hurt your feelings."

Sasuke decides he doesn't like this development, and isn't in the mood for her attempt at an apology. She's no longer amusing, only irritating. "How kind of you," he drawls.

Her face remains distant and polite, but her shoulders tremble, and her eyes waver. She is quickly wearing down in his icy and uncaring presence. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I…just thought…" she trails off, watching him turn his back to her.

He removes his arm guards. "If you're done, you can leave." His voice is a dismissal all its own. "I've already had to deal with one emotional female today."

"Wait," she implores, determined, foolishly, to get the whole truth out. "There…there was one other thing."

He does not turn around, but listens patiently. "I kissed him," Hinata says in her feather-soft voice.

He is still for a beat, then sets his weapon pouch on the table as well and then walks back to her. She keeps her eyes on his face, obviously very determined not to look away this time. "Thank you for telling me," he says coolly, mockingly. He cocks his head to one side, studying her. "I hope you extended the same courtesy to Naruto."

Her eyes widen, and her lips part, though she doesn't look away. "I hope you told him about the first time. And the second. And the third." He raises an eyebrow. "How many were there? I wasn't counting."

"Four," she says weakly.

"Four," he repeats. Her lower lip is trembling now, just the slightest bit, but still she refuses to look away. He wonders what Naruto did to give her this kind of confidence. This kind of resolution. It surprises him, the power the blonde has over her, how much strength he gave her in just one day. And he compares it to his own efforts, and finds them lacking. This is disconcerting. He's never had to work harder than Naruto before. Not for anything; especially not for the affections of one small, timid girl.

She speaks again, her voice less strong; it wavers slightly. "I…I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you b-before…before you heard from someone else."

His voice is smooth and cold, like ice. "You weren't under any obligation to tell me anything." Sasuke finds that he doesn't like her like this, shining dimly with the afterglow of the sun. "You wasted your time."

He retreats to his room for a shower, and a minute later hears the faint sound of the door closing. He tips his head back under the water and thinks of a city burning to the ground, and a dark-haired girl with tears in her green eyes.

* * *

><p>Hinata is absolutely free on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Friday and Sunday belong to clan matters and what could be called, in simple terms, "heiress training". Every other day she works at the hospital.<p>

The next day, which is a Wednesday, Hinata walks out of the Hyuga compound and finds Naruto waiting outside the gates. His face lights up upon seeing her. "Hey, Hinata-chan!" he says, running up to meet her. "I thought I'd walk you to the hospital!"

Hinata is pleasantly surprised, as she was unaware that she had ever told Naruto her work schedule. "That's very kind, Naruto-kun," she says, smiling.

He smiles back. It's the smile that makes her cheeks flush and her head dizzy. It's the smile that she often pictured in her head to get her through the day. It's the smile that saved her.

She has been in need of it lately. Yesterday had not been her best. She had spent the entire morning agonizing over what she was going to tell Sasuke, the entire afternoon planning how she was going to say it, and the entire evening regretting it. But, she reasoned, it had to be done. It would have been worse not to tell him. He had not seemed very angry, at least. Still…his reaction had not been a positive one.

She tries to put it behind her. What's done is done.

The begin walking, and to Hinata the strong, brilliant sunshine is an omen of the best kind. Naruto's hand brushes hers, and whether it was on accident or purpose, Hinata does not care; she slips her hand into his, fingers intertwining.

And everything is alright.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>Yeah…I can't write fight scenes.

Well now! It looks like Naruto finally did something about Hinata, which didn't quite work out the way Sasuke wanted it to. And Sakura's just a hot mess.

I'm thinking I might introduce Kakashi soon. Suggestions?


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: **Greetings. I come bearing gifts of literature.

What is it about Naruto that makes him so hard to write? Gawsh. I rewrote this chapter multiple times and I'm finally somewhat satisfied. I'm hoping to keep the POVs varied and interesting. Mostly it'll be Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata. Sakura and Kakashi will chime in once in a while. Others may make guest appearances. We'll see…

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>With Naruto's endless enthusiasm and excitement, it's difficult not to be happy for him when he comes bearing good news.<p>

Somehow, Sasuke manages.

"She's the best, Sasuke," Naruto practically gushes. "She's so…down to earth. Y'know? She's the real thing. And she's really nice, she holds my hand, and spars with me, and then she bandages me up afterwards…" the blonde boy sighs. "The best."

Sasuke makes a noncommittal sound.

"She's a great cook, too," Naruto adds. "She packed me a bento yesterday to take to train with Kakashi-sensei." He puts his hands behind his head, beaming. "Isn't that cute?"

Cute. Yes, she's cute. Sickeningly so.

Naruto tilts his head thoughtfully. "We should find you someone," he says, then nods as if confirming his own idea. "You could really use a girl."

_I was going to use __your__ girl, _he jeers internally. "No thanks."

Naruto narrows his eyes suspiciously. "What, you want a guy?" He backtracks quickly. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean, if that's the way you swing – "

"It's not."

The blue-eyed shinobi looks bewildered. "You don't want girls, you don't want guys, there's no pleasing you."

It's natural for Naruto to come to him. To talk, to complain, to share his thoughts and feelings…even though Sasuke has only ever shown minimal interest in any of those. It's like they're twelve years old again. It's as if Naruto is content to forget everything Sasuke has done in the past six years; not just forgive, but _forget_. Pretend it never happened. He's perfectly happy with ignoring it all. And that's not benevolence; that's not a willingness to let go. That's willful ignorance.

Sasuke toys briefly with telling Naruto what _he_ knows about Hinata, but decides against it. There will be a better time for that. Well, better for him. Worse for Naruto.

He watches his best friend chatter on as they walk down the road, and wonders when he began to hate him so much.

"Anyway," Naruto is saying, "you're free in a few days, right? Your parole ends on…" he twists his mouth in thought. "Sunday?"

"Monday."

"Right. Well, when you get out, we'll have a big party for you, and invite everyone!"

Sasuke puts his hands in his pockets. "Oh?"

Naruto nods, and opens his mouth, as if he's about to outline the details of the party – and then he stops, and closes his mouth. After a moment he speaks again, excitement gone from his voice. "Maybe…" he says hesitantly, regarding Sasuke almost guiltily now. "Maybe I'll just take you out to Ichiraku."

There is a silence then, uncomfortable for Naruto, but Sasuke, who has acquired a taste for making others uneasy, finds it funny. Throwing a big 'welcome back' party for a criminal would not be received well. Sasuke never killed anyone in the Leaf Village, but they know enough of his crimes. He joined Orochimaru, then Akatsuki. He planned to invade their precious little walled kingdom. He has some enemies here, but mostly he has strangers who fear him.

Naruto really is his only friend. How pathetic.

"Fine," Sasuke says.

Just like that, Naruto is smiling again. "Great! Oh, but, I have a date with Hinata for lunch Monday…we'll go for dinner." Not waiting for a reply, Naruto tilts his head back, allowing the warm sunshine to spill across his face. Life is good for him, it seems.

Sasuke walks beside him, silent for now.

* * *

><p>Naruto had been nervous on their first date, unsure of himself, but Hinata seemed content to go along with whatever he had planned without complaint. He took her to the dango shop, and they spent the afternoon talking. He ended up rambling on about his last mission while she listened in rapt attention, which calmed his nerves slightly. It was…empowering to have someone so interested in what he had to say.<p>

Still, he blushed and fumbled, and agonized over whether or not she was having a good time. This was his first real date, and his first real girlfriend…although, now that he thought about it, it was hers too, wasn't it? And she didn't seem all shaken up. He told himself to calm down, that it was nothing to get worked up over, but he just really wanted her to like him.

Several times he had to remind himself that he didn't have to impress her, she already liked him. Already loved him.

Naruto wonders if he is in love, too. It seems like it. He's never felt like this before, not even with Sakura. Sakura doesn't make his heart beat fast or his palms clammy or his head feel light. Hinata does all that and more just by looking at him – he wonders if that's normal. He wonders if it's the same for her.

Even with all this, Naruto can't remember ever being so happy. He has Sasuke and Sakura, he has his friends, his village is safe, and he's in love – or close enough – with someone who loves him. At any time of day he feels like he is bursting with happiness; there's so much inside of him that he can't contain it, and even people who don't know him well remark on his newfound joy.

He can't imagine anything could ruin it.

On Monday he is called down to the Hokage's office on Sasuke's behalf. He'll be expected to testify to Sasuke's good behavior so that he can get off of parole. He's got a good feeling about this. He knows Sasuke won't have a lot of support, so he's gotta be there for him, even if no one else is. But to his surprise, when he arrives, he finds Hinata standing in front of the door to the meeting room. "Hinata?" he says, jogging up to her. She turns quickly, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She blushes. "I…I don't know, I was called down here for…for Uchiha-san," she murmurs hesitantly.

He glances around, but the hallway is empty save for the two of them. Odd…if they called Hinata, why not the rest of the Rookie Nine? "Huh," he breathes. "That's weird."

Hinata nods slowly, staring at the door.

Naruto leans against the wall, and they wait for a few minutes in companionable silence until the door is opened by Shizune. "You can come in now."

Everyone is already seated, and again to Naruto's surprise, Sakura is there as well. She acknowledges them with a wave and a small smile, but quickly goes back to sitting motionless. The two elders are seated on either side of Tsunade, and they stare at Naruto as he enters. Feeling bold, he gives them a thumbs-up, and their severe expressions melt into mild shock and offense.

Sasuke is sitting at the far end of the table, and Naruto greets him with a grin. Sasuke nods at him, and then his eyes flicker to Hinata, perhaps also confused as to why she's here. Naruto, in a show of good faith, takes a seat right next to his friend, and Hinata, after a moment's pause, takes a seat next to him.

The Hokage's expression is grave. "Uchiha Sasuke," she begins, "you are here under consideration for your release from parole. You have spent one year confined to the village, and are eligible at this time to be reinstated as a citizen of Konoha." Her amber eyes study him. "Do you have anything to say?"

Sasuke replies with a simple shake of his head.

"Then we'll get started." She removes a paper from the file in front of her. "According to regular reports, you did not violate the terms of your parole. You did not engage in any criminal activities, you respected the boundaries set for you, and you have not attempted to activate your Sharingan." She glances up. "In this case, you will be released from parole only if the majority of the Council finds you successfully rehabilitated. We will vote now."

She nods at Shizune, who steps forward and speaks in an official tone. "Please respond with a 'yes' or 'no' concerning the matter of whether or not Uchiha Sasuke should be reinstated as a citizen of this village." She then turns to the elderly man. "Homura-san."

Face grim, he shakes his head. "No. The boy is dangerous. His movements should be restricted, and he should be watched at all times for the safety of the village."

"Koharu-san."

The woman says sternly, "Yes. He is a valuable asset, and we cannot afford to keep him under surveillance."

"Hokage-sama?"

All eyes are on Tsunade, who frowns. "I'd like to hear from Naruto and Sakura, if you don't mind."

"Tsunade, this is highly biased, they are the boy's teammates," Homura protests, but is shushed by his female counterpart. "Let them speak." The old woman turns to Naruto. "Go on, boy."

Naruto nods, glances at Sasuke, who looks back levelly. "Sasuke's not perfect, but he's not a bad person. He's just made some bad choices. He's…had it rough. But if we give him a chance…" He pauses, starts again. "I give you my word; I will personally reintegrate him. Just…let him earn your trust. _I _believe in him. And if you have any faith in me, then you will, too," he says firmly.

After a moment of silence, Tsunade's eyes flick to her pupil. "Sakura?"

Sakura opens her mouth, closes it. She looks at Sasuke, then at Naruto. This is where her eyes stay. "I believe in Naruto," she says finally. "And I believe Sasuke can be a citizen again. He's not…" she swallows. "He won't hurt anyone. He _hasn't_ hurt anyone."

Tsunade frowns again, then sighs. "He's served his parole," she mutters. "And we need shinobi." She looks directly at Sasuke, as if expecting to catch him smirking and rubbing his hands together evilly; looking for any signs of guilt. He gazes back, cool as ever. "I vote yes," Tsunade says.

Naruto grins, and Hinata places a hand on his knee, smiling a bit as well. "The matter is resolved," Shizune says. "Uchiha Sasuke will be reinstated as a citizen of Konoha."

"Naruto, Sakura, you may go," Tsunade says, rearranging the papers in front of her.

Naruto gets up and waits for Hinata, but she doesn't move. He offers her his hand, but she shakes her head, lips pressed into a line, and Naruto realizes Hinata wasn't dismissed. "Hey, what about Hinata?" he asks, confused.

"Hinata is needed here for a related matter."

"It's fine, Naruto," Hinata speaks suddenly, before he can further question it. Her eyes flick up to his. "G-Go, I'll catch up to you later," she reassures with a small smile.

"Okay," he mutters, confused, but does as she suggests and follows Sakura out the door.

* * *

><p>The second meeting takes another fifteen minutes, and when Hinata emerges from the room Naruto is waiting for her in the hallway. He jumps up from his chair as she approaches. "What was that about?" he asks, as they walk together.<p>

"Uchiha-san applied to be a Jounin," Hinata tells him, "and I was there to attest to his skill as a shinobi."

"Oh!" That makes sense. Because of the mission they were on together. "What about Shikamaru?"

This gives Hinata pause. "He, um, spoke with them earlier, I think," she says hesitantly. "I'm…not sure, though."

Naruto mulls this over. "Well…why not me, then? Why not Sakura? We've both sparred with him…you know, without the Sharingan."

"I don't know," Hinata murmurs, sounding genuinely confused. "You are his closest friends, maybe…" but she trails off.

Shrugging the matter off, they go out to lunch, but Hinata seems distant, thoughtful. More so than usual. She doesn't smile as much as she usually does at his dumb jokes. When he walks her home, he waits for her to reach for his hand, as is her custom, but she never does, so he stuffs his hands in his pockets, trying not to feel put out. "Are you alright?" he asks, as they near her apartment.

"Hm?" Hinata glances over at him. "Oh. Yes. Fine," she tucks her hair behind her ear, a nervous smile playing on her lips.

He gives her a look.

She laughs a bit. "Sorry – I'm a little distracted."

Naruto waggles his eyebrows. "By my good looks?"

She smiles. "Yes," she says, genuinely.

He steps towards her, and she holds her ground. "I'm good at distractions," says suggestively, leaning down.

"Oh?" Hinata breathes, their lips nearly touching, but Naruto doesn't answer with words, only closes that tiny half-inch between them.

Why don't they spend all their time kissing? This is his new favorite pastime. She's so soft and warm and sweet. Clouding his head and making everything blur together…he doesn't realize he's leaning into her too much until she stumbles backwards, her back thudding against the door. He follows, humming contentedly and pressing against her, but her hands are on his chest, pushing him away. And then pushing _hard_. Now it's his turn to stumble back, confused and still a little dazed. Hinata's eyes are wide, and her breathing is irregular. "Sorry," she gasps. "You – startled me." She puts a hand up to her chest, as if trying to calm her heart.

A twinge of male pride goes through him at the thought of making her heart race, but he gets the feeling it's more than that. "Sorry," he says at the same time she repeats it. "No, don't apologize," they again say in tandem, and that makes her giggle. "I…that was silly." She straightens up. "I'm sorry," she says again.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto waves her off. "My charms are too much sometimes. I understand."

"I'm glad." Smiling, she glances up at the setting sun. "Oh! I have a shift tonight, I should go get ready. You know, before your charms start affecting me again," she teases, opening her door.

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye. Have fun with…Uchiha-san," Hinata says, then disappears inside her apartment.

* * *

><p>"I don't trust this. Something's up."<p>

Shrug. "If you say so."

"I'm saying that I can't just ignore it. I put them in a room together and she didn't look at him once. Not even when she was talking about him. And he didn't even acknowledge her. They acted like complete strangers."

"And you think that means they have something to hide?"

A deep sigh. "I'm hoping not. But it's suspicious if several witnesses saw them together - acting nothing like strangers - only a few days ago." A pointed look. "Including you."

A pause. "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Watch them. Both of them."

"When? We don't exactly cross paths often."

"He's a full-fledged Jounin now. You'll be finding yourself on quite a few missions with them in the future."

"…I'm not really cut out for this, you know."

"I know. But I trust you. I'm grateful for this." A wave of a hand. "You can go. Report back to me if you have something."

"Right."

Strolling down the hallway, Shikamaru flicks his lighter a few times, cupping his hand around the small flame as he lights a cigarette. "What a drag," he mumbles around the filter.

* * *

><p><strong>Me:<strong> Duh-oh. Trouble's a brewin'.

Looks like Sasuke and Hinata haven't been as discreet as they'd like to think. Now Shikamaru's on the case! And poor Naruto has no idea what's coming…

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Me:** This responsibility stuff is hard.

Life has gotten a little hectic as of late and unfortunately, fanfiction has been pushed to the side a bit. I've been trying to work on this chapter – and it's given me a bit of trouble – but I finally finished it.

It's not necessary to have a map of the Naruto world for reference in this chapter, but it might help you visualize.

Enjoy!

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In all her life, Hinata has never been off the Western Continent.

She has been to the sea, but never crossed it; never traveled to the Eastern Continent, even though many others of the Rookie Nine have done so. She knows little of the world besides the countries surrounding the Land of Fire. As a child this did not bother her; she was content to stay with what she knew. The Western Continent was safe. Stable. Familiar.

And now, she wonders. She imagines faraway lands, foreign people and cultures. She thinks wistfully of the sea. The unknown.

She receives her summons on a cloudless summer day, and arrives at the Hokage's office in anticipation. It has been a week since she has been sent on a mission of any kind, and she hopes this assignment will be an exciting one.

When she arrives, her teammates are already there. They both turn when she enters, and her cheerful greeting dies on her lips. Her heart thumps hard against her sternum as she registers who she will be working with. Mutely she comes to stand beside them, doing her best not to look anywhere but the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade looks and sounds composed, as she usually does. "We've received a distress call from the lands to the East. The Land of Canyons is currently embroiled in civil war and requests protection." Here she looks at each of them squarely. "I want you three to travel there and assess the situation. Before I send any of my shinobi over, I want to know what's happening. Got it?"

Hinata nods. Beside her are two muttered "hai"s.

"You have my permission to lend assistance if need be, but do not organize attacks on a large scale. We do not want to be involved unless we are sure we can spare the manpower." Tsunade hands the file to the Jonin directly in front of her.

"We'll leave immediately," says Shikamaru.

Hinata isn't sure what's worse: being alone with Shikamaru, being alone with Sasuke, or being alone with both of them. As the leave the Hokage's office, Shikamaru is frowning again – for entirely different reasons this time – and Sasuke is more or less ignoring her presence. They're right back where they started. Maybe not even that.

"Meet back here in 30 minutes," Shikamaru says tersely, not waiting for a response before disappearing.

Hinata packs, and then re-packs.

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Naruto walks her to the Main Gate, wishes Shikamaru good luck, gets into a minor fight with Sasuke, and then kisses her goodbye.

Hinata nervously waits for Shikamaru to say something to Naruto about what he saw on their last mission together, but of course this fear is baseless and Shikamaru says nothing of the sort. They chat about the mission details, and the more she stands there and listens to them the more she feels as if she might spontaneously combust. Possibly throw up.

As if to prove something to Shikamaru, or maybe to herself, she pulls Naruto to her again and kisses him soundly. When they break apart, he looks dazedly amused. "I'll miss you too," he grins, earning a blush from her and a good-natured eye roll from Shikamaru. Sasuke is watching disinterestedly.

"I'll be back in two weeks," Hinata promises, and with one last wave to Naruto, they are off.

It takes one day to reach the eastern coast of the Land of Fire. Hinata spends most of this day in repentant silence, evading eye contact as much as possible with Sasuke and Shikamaru.

She had known that it would not be possible to avoid them forever, but she had been hoping for a little more time, at least. She knows that right now she is not held in high esteem by either of them, and this is so abhorrent to her that it makes her stomach hurt. Hinata has never been actively disliked before. It is not a pleasant feeling.

She regrets now, more than anything, becoming involved with Sasuke. This, she reckons, is the source of the conflict. If she had never let Sasuke kiss her, then they could be strangers. She could admire him from a distance for his skill as a shinobi, or for his intelligence, or some other surface quality. If she had never let Sasuke kiss her, Shikamaru would not be so disappointed in her. If she had never let Sasuke kiss her, she would not be keeping it from Naruto, like a heinous crime.

It is unfair to place the blame on Sasuke. It is not his fault that she has made poor decisions concerning her love life. In fact, this monumental issue to her is probably nothing to him. Surely she is not the only girl he has been involved with; she is just the only one to make such a big deal out of it. Thinking that telling him about Naruto would make the situation better was idiotic. Thinking that it would even matter to him in the first place was ludicrous. She has acted foolishly, and this is her penance.

And so this first day, while they travel to the coast, Hinata attempts to push her feelings aside and be professional about this, even if neither of her teammates like her very much.

Hinata wishes Naruto were here instead of Sasuke. Or instead of Shikamaru. Or, better yet, instead of her. He would lessen the tension with his can-do-will-do attitude. He would get Shikamaru to open up, and he would keep Sasuke in check. _He should be on this mission, not me,_ Hinata thinks several times throughout the day. _Anyone but me._

That night, as they once again sit around a fire, Hinata takes a deep mental breath and goes to sit down beside Shikamaru. His gaze, as it settles on her when she takes a seat, is tired and guarded, but she smiles at him as best she can and offers to take first watch.

She will make this better. She has to.

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"When will we be ready for departure, captain?" Shikamaru asks.

Captain Ozora Sencho is a short but sturdy man with red hair and a matching beard. His voice is thickly accented and unintentionally booming when he speaks. "As soon as the last of the cargo is loaded. I'd say fifteen minutes." The captain squints at his schooner. "Thirty, if my crew is slow." His voice then escalates to a level Hinata cannot stop herself from flinching at. "Oi! Watch the cinches!" he hollers at the group of men loading the last crate onto the ship.

He turns back to the three of them, smiling ruefully. "They're good men, but God knows they never quite got the hang of a cargo net."

Hinata offers her own smile, unsure of whether or not this is a joke she should laugh at. This seems to draw the Captain's attention to her, and his face takes on a more serious expression. "I hate to be having to tell you this, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. Be careful when you're aboard, miss. The crew shouldn't give you any trouble, but if they do, I promise you there will be immediate and harsh consequences."

Before Hinata can speak up – perhaps to defend herself, perhaps to stammer in mortification – Shikamaru cuts in. "Hinata-san can handle herself," he assures the captain. "We'll be fine."

Captain Sencho nods, and Hinata glances at Shikamaru. She wants to convey something with her eyes – gratitude? Reproach? Remorse? – but he isn't looking at her.

"How long will it take to reach the Land of Water?" Sasuke says suddenly, one of the first full sentences he has uttered so far.

"Three days, if the weather is fair," Captain Sencho estimates. "In perfect conditions we might make it there in two."

Sasuke does not acknowledge the response, but the captain smiles as if he has. "Should be smooth sailing," he says cheerfully, looking out at the flat expanse of water at the horizon. The sky is blue and adorned with white wispy clouds. A few seagulls are resting on the dock; one half-heartedly flaps his wings before settling down again, apparently deciding it is not worth the effort.

"We're ready when you are," Shikamaru says, gesturing to the ship.

"Excellent. Bring your things on board and I'll show you to your cabins." Captain Sencho turns and begins walking to the boarding plank, stopping to yell at the crew members again as they pass them.

Down in the bowels of the ship the light is dim, stark sunbeams from small windows cutting through the gloom and illuminating circles on the floor. "You two will have to sleep in the barracks with the crew," the captain explains to Sasuke and Shikamaru as they step over sleeping mats. They come to a door and Captain Sencho opens it, revealing a tiny room with a tiny cot. "This is where you'll be staying," he says to Hinata.

She steps inside. It's more of a closet. There's barely room enough to lie down – the cot is scrunched up against the wall, and hardly looks large enough for a child. The walls and floor are otherwise bare. "Thank you," she tells the captain. "This is perfect."

The red-headed man raises an eyebrow. "I doubt that highly, but thank you anyway, miss."

"We're grateful for letting us sail with you," Shikamaru says, picking an open spot on the floor near Hinata's room and unrolling his sleeping mat. "We'll pay for our passage, of course."

"Oh, no need, boy!" The captain laughs. "I'm glad to have you aboard. If we run into trouble with pirates, you're our first line of defense!" He winks at Hinata, who can't help smiling in return. "Maybe you can teach us a little something, eh? How to walk on water?" He nudges Sasuke, whose arms are crossed. Sasuke glances at the captain with something akin to exasperation. In response, the man laughs.

"We may not have the time for that," Shikamaru says carefully. "Chakra control takes quite a bit of practice."

"Well, if not that, maybe you can teach my chef how to cook," Captain Sencho says heartily, unphased. He claps his hands suddenly, the sound almost too loud in the cramped barracks. "Right! I'll go check with the first mate, see if everyone is present and accounted for. You three get settled in. I'll see you on deck once we're underway."

The three of them mutter a chorus of thank-yous, and the captain climbs back up the ladder into the sunlight, leaving Hinata and her teammates alone in the near-dark.

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Their route is mostly by water, from the eastern coast of the Land of Fire to the Land of Canyons, with a stop at one of the islands of the Land of Water along the way to pick up more cargo. This leg of the journey will take five days.

Hinata worries. She had hoped to easily resolve the tension between the three of them, but realizes now that it goes beyond her. Not only do they not like her, they do not like each other. Sasuke and Shikamaru have opted to eat together tonight, sitting side by side at the table, but they do not speak. They do not even acknowledge each other. Hinata, sitting across from them, picks at her food and glances up at them from time to time. Shikamaru does not like Sasuke due to his perceived superiority. Sasuke doesn't like Shikamaru on principle – he doesn't like anyone.

She can attempt to make amends with Shikamaru, and maybe even with Sasuke – but she can't make them like or trust each other. She worries, and wonders. She wonders if they'll be able to work together. She wonders if they'll be able to help anyone in the Land of Canyons.

She worries that five days is not enough to fix this.

Hinata's thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of a bowl of rice before her. She glances up, startled, and meets Shikamaru's steady gaze. "Take it," he prompts, holding it out to her.

"Oh…ah, no thank you."

The team leader glances down at her largely untouched plate of food, then back up at her. "The rice is safe to eat," he tells her.

Hinata flushes, embarrassed. "T-The food is fine," she insists. "I'm just not very hungry." Does she look like a child, picking at her dinner like that? Like she can't stomach anything that isn't up to standard? To illustrate her point, she takes a bite of the main course, which is chicken in some sort of unidentifiable sauce.

One of Shikamaru's eyebrows quirks up, but he lets the issue go and sets the bowl of rice down between them. "It's yours if you want it."

Hinata smiles, another piece of chicken held between her chopsticks. "Thank you," she says sincerely.

To her surprise, Shikamaru smiles back, a tilted, near-sardonic curve to his mouth. "Sure thing."

Buoyed by this success, Hinata glances at Sasuke, who is eating quietly and appears unaffected by the conversation. After a moment he feels her gaze and returns it. She smiles pleasantly and tries to project her goodwill to him. Sasuke does not return her smile, but instead studies her, searching her face. After a moment, his eyes slide away from hers, apparently satisfied.

It is a start.

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Hinata wakes with her back aching slightly, curled up as she is in the tiny cot. Dead silence greets her, indicating it is still night, but she feels alert and awake. She swings her legs over the side and stretches carefully, wincing. She waits for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light and then stands, opening the door to her room, nearly hitting Shikamaru as she does so.

She presses her lips together to muffle a squeak and stops the door just in time to avoid collision with the top of Shikamaru's head. Inching her way around him, she shuts the door as quietly as she can. Hinata then begins picking her way between sleeping mats, mindful of the hammocks strung up in the barracks as well. Finally she reaches the foot of the stairs and glances back, making sure she didn't wake anyone. Reassured, she climbs up onto the deck.

The moonlight is stark and bright, illuminating everything in a glacial color. The deck is empty, all crew members asleep below. Except for one.

Captain Sencho is at the helm, staring off into the horizon, his distinctive build and bright red hair – color discernible even now – giving him away. He appears not to have seen her.

Slowly Hinata approaches, climbing the stairs to the upper deck, noticing as she gets closer that the captain is humming under his breath. When at last she reaches the top, he turns to her, smiling broadly. "Well, if it isn't our resident kunoichi, up for some fresh air. Hinata, was it?"

She nods. "I couldn't sleep," she says, somewhat apologetically.

"I don't blame you. If I had to listen to that lot snore all night, I wouldn't be sleeping, either." He gestures out in front of him. "Luckily I'm here, manning the ship."

Hinata looks out at the sea, endless stretch of black-blue waves with silver crowns. "It's beautiful," she murmurs.

"That it is. I see it every day, and I still never tire of the sight. Fell in love with her when I was a boy. n' fact, I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a sailor." He's staring straight ahead, talking to her but at the same time not. "I have two loves in my life – the sea, and a woman. Her name is Kamome; lives in the Land of Water."

"Do you see her often?" Hinata ventures to ask when he is silent for a moment.

"Whenever we pull into port. She lives on the docks; mends clothes for sailors." His eyes crinkle with fondness. "I love her, but she won't have me; a new excuse every time we dock. Her business is her life, she's too old for marriage, she has to look after her sister, she's too tall for me." The captain glances at Hinata. "She's at least right about that last one, I figure."

Hinata laughs before she can help it, but Captain Sencho laughs with her. "Well, I'll just keep at her until she gets fed up and agrees to marry me," he says optimistically. "I can tell I'm wearing her down. She hardly bothers with the frying pan nowadays."

An image of a tall woman beating Captain Sencho with a skillet pops into Hinata's mind, and sticks there. She smiles involuntarily, hides it with her sleeve.

"What about you? Got a nice young lad to trade blows with?" A wink makes Hinata laugh again, nervously this time.

"Yes, I do," she admits after a moment.

The captain hums interestedly. "Is it the one with the earrings?"

Hinata is confused for approximately two seconds before she startles, whirling to face Captain Sencho. "Oh, n-no! I mean, it's not him. He's back home." She blushes at the thought of she and Shikamaru…together.

The red-haired man glances at her. "Not the quiet one either, then? Too bad. They both seem like fine young gentleman."

Hinata nods, smiling weakly. "They are. My, ah, boyfriend…he is, too."

"Good, glad to hear it. All nice girls like yourself deserve a nice boy."

They fall into silence for a minute before Captain Sencho speaks again. "You're welcome to stay up here and keep me company, but it'll be dawn soon and you'll be wanting your rest," he advises. "The crew gets up early."

Hinata pulls her jacket tighter around herself, taking this as her cue to leave. "Thank you for your hospitality," she says. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams, miss," the captain calls to her as she makes her way down the stairs.

In the gloom of the barracks, Hinata again picks her way around the sleeping crew, feeling more tranquil now. She likes the captain – he's easy to talk to. A bit lonely, perhaps.

She's just reaching for the handle to her door when something grabs her ankle. Startled, she looks down, and finds Shikamaru propped up on one elbow, regarding her with sleepy eyes. " 's there a problem?" he mumbles.

Hinata shakes her head. "No, I was just…getting some fresh air."

Shikamaru studies her for a minute, then releases her. " 'Kay. Night," He grunts, settling back into a more comfortable position. Hinata hesitates, standing over him, then whispers, "Thank you."

He opens one eye, looking up at her. "What for?"

Uh-oh. She's not great at explaining things. "Um," she says. "For…for this morning. When you…said that I could handle myself?" The last bit comes out as a question, and she winces. That was better in her head.

Shikamaru blinks at her. "Ah. Sure. Don't mention it," he says, a yawn clinging stubbornly to his voice at the end.

"Good night," she whispers after a second.

He mumbles something, then turns over. After a moment, he is still. Hinata glances around, making sure she woke no one else, then very quietly returns to her room.

[||] [||] [||] [||] [||] [||]

Nothing.

Either they are both very good actors, or there is truly nothing between them.

The former is unlikely – Hinata consistently received low marks during interrogation training in the Academy. No good at questioning, no good at lying. Sasuke is a different story.

_Nothing_ – not even a wayward glance. They seem to be avoiding each other, but no more than they avoid him. Or, to be fair, no more than he avoids them.

But he also knows that there is something between them. He saw them together. And the two Anbu stationed at Sasuke's house saw them together. And a village girl who served them coffee saw them together. There _is_ something between them. Or, there was.

He considered talking to Naruto about it, to see if the blonde could provide some insight, but something about that didn't sit right with him. He's doubtful that Naruto knows anything anyway. He doesn't really want to drag him into this. He doesn't want to be involved in this himself. He wishes that this situation wasn't so complicated – if Sasuke wasn't an international criminal, and Hinata wasn't heiress apparent to a prestigious clan, then maybe they could work out whatever shit they have going on in peace. As it is, Sasuke is a (former) criminal, and Hinata is an heiress, and Shikamaru has been tasked with digging into their personal business to find out if either of them is up to something.

He feels…dirty, almost. What is Tsunade expecting him to find? As far as he can tell, Sasuke and Hinata are just two quiet people who made a mistake in pursuing a relationship and are now uncomfortable with each other. But why all the secrecy, then? Why is Hinata trying so hard to make amends?

Yes, he's noticed. Whatever travesty she thinks she's committed, she obviously believes that he's angry with her for it. And Shikamaru wants to dispel the idea, but can't make himself be much nicer to her. He's not angry – he's just ill at ease. He doesn't want to delve into Hinata's psyche, but feels he has no choice if he wants to figure this out. Is this the guilt of a girl who loves her boyfriend and regrets her actions with his best friend, or the guilt of a girl who is aiding a traitor in some nefarious plan against her village? He truly doesn't know, and that perturbs him. He was under the impression that Hinata was a simple girl with simple desires and goals.

She leaves the barracks in the middle of the night, then comes back and thanks him for a comment he made hours ago, and he's too tired to try to interpret her actions now. In his experience, Hinata has always been predictable and easy to read. An open book. As he looks up at her from his sleeping mat, her frame illuminated in pale moonlight, the rest of her shrouded in darkness, he wonders if that was ever true at all.

[||] [||] [||] [||] [||] [||]

**Me:** Hmm. I wonder if Hinata's going to cook up some team-building exercises. Like trust falls.

Probably not.

Leave a review if you liked it – leave a review if you didn't. I love praise, and I love (constructive) criticism. : )


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: **Finals are over. I am free. (flies off majestically into sunset)

* * *

><p>Dull gloom again greets Hinata when she opens her eyes, but when she opens the door she finds that bright yellow daylight is streaming through the portholes, and the barracks are mostly empty.<p>

Mostly, meaning everyone but Shikamaru.

To be fair, he _is_ awake, sitting cross-legged on his sleeping mat, hunched over what looks like a map of the Eastern Continent. Hinata approaches and he glances up. "Morning," he says.

"Good morning," Hinata replies, voice still scratchy from sleep. She sits down gingerly across from him. "What are you looking at?"

Shikamaru points to a spot on the map a few miles inland. "This is the encampment we're going to. The Tani clan and their affiliates; they're the ones who requested our help. They claim that the central power in the Land of Canyons is oppressing them."

Hinata had been briefed on this, but in general, vague terms. "Who exactly is the central power?"

"The ruling clan, the Kubochi. A group of military officials have more or less taken control of the country. Among other things, they have sealed off the capital city to anyone who can't prove they're kin."

"What are the Kubochi saying?"

"They say the Tani attacked them first. But that's not our concern. We're only here to assess the situation, see if we're even capable of lending help. To either side."

Hinata sees the merit of this, but frowns anyway. How many lives will be lost while they wait?

She looks around, notices that Sasuke's sleeping mat, a few feet away, is slightly askew. And empty. "Where's Sasuke?" she wonders aloud.

"He went to go find us some breakfast. The crew ate a while ago," Shikamaru says absently.

"Oh. What time is it?" It's hard to tell, but the angle at which the light is coming in leads her to believe it's midmorning.

Shikamaru shrugs. "Noon. I dunno."

A roll of bread suddenly drops into Shikamaru's lap. Sasuke sits down beside Hinata, carrying two other rolls. "Nine."

Not looking up, Shikamaru waves his hand. "Yeah. What he said."

Hinata reminds herself that shrinking away will not be productive to their team bonding. Instead, she stays very still. Sasuke offers her a roll, and she takes it, proud of herself for not flinching when their hands brush.

"What are the numbers?" Sasuke asks, apparently picking up a previous conversation.

"They only have a rough estimate. They keep getting more every day. At the time they contacted us, it was about two hundred. Including women and children."

"Not a battalion, then." Sasuke tears off a piece of bread. "A refugee camp."

"For the most part. They have a small outfitted force, but it's for defense, not offensive attacks."

"Are they asking for protection or additional forces?" Hinata asks.

"Protection, for now."

"Well…can't we at least offer them that indefinitely?"

Shikamaru is shaking his head. "No, that would be getting involved. Which we have instructions not to do. We're just there to observe. If the need arises, we'll help protect the camp, but we can't make a long-term commitment."

Hinata bites her lip. She doesn't like the idea of watching from the sidelines. But orders are orders. And if it's best for Konoha…she can't really complain.

Shikamaru finally looks up, looking her in the eye. "Hey. I know it seems kinda cruel, going there just to watch the action, but we don't even know if the Tani are the victims in this situation. Maybe they did attack first. The Kubochi may have just sealed off the city for their protection. We have to hang back for now, okay?"

Hinata nods. "H-Hai."

Sasuke reaches for the Shikamaru's backpack, rummaging around in it. He pulls out a scroll, begins reading it. It's the one from the Tani, asking for help. Hinata glances over, but can't see the writing from this angle.

Shikamaru returns to the map. "In any case we should be ready for anything. By the time we get there, they could have gathered enough troops to mobilize. In which case we'll stay and protect the camp. Hinata, you have training in medical ninjutsu?"

She nods in what she hopes is a confident manner. "A little. It's very basic, though…"

"Good. They mentioned they're short on doctors. If you can, you should try and lend a hand in the med tents."

Okay. Useful, she can be useful. She nods again.

"We're going to have to do a thorough sweep of the place, see just how deep in they are. We'll talk to whoever's in charge…"

"The clan head's name is Tojinbo," Sasuke supplies.

"Right. We'll talk to him, get his perspective. We should maybe even travel to the capital city to verify that we're helping the right people."

Sasuke is still reading the scroll. "The right people," he repeats. His tone is objective. "Financially or morally?"

Shikamaru takes a moment to answer. "Morally," he says finally, but there is a crease in his forehead. "We have to be sure that we're helping the oppressed and not the oppressors." He gazes down at the map, sounding assured but not quite looking it. "Money isn't everything," he mutters.

Hinata watches him, concerned.

Sasuke tears off a piece of his roll.

* * *

><p>After dinner that night, the crew member next to her hands her a pack of Hanafuda cards<strong>(1)<strong>. "You need them more than I do," he shrugs. Hinata thanks him profusely, glad for any entertainment. The novelty of sea travel had worn off quickly, and she had resigned herself to boredom for the remainder of the trip. These cards, however, promise some form of amusement, and she shares them excitedly with Sasuke and Shikamaru.

The dinner table has been taken up by a rowdy game of Chō Han**(2)**, so the three of them retreat to the barracks. A few crew members are settling in for the night and have extinguished the lamps, so they retreat further to Hinata's room and set themselves up on the bed – Sasuke and Shikamaru at the head and foot, and Hinata against the wall facing the door. The space is so cramped that they have to actively avoid looking at each others' hands, but cheating isn't much of an option with their limited lighting. The one lamp barely gives off enough to see their own cards.

They play a few rounds, and when Shikamaru is revealed to be the overall winner, Hinata sets the cards aside. They sit in silence for a moment before Hinata ventures a question.

"What's the Land of Canyons like?" She asks, unsure if either of them has anything to say about it. Maybe neither of them have been there.

Sasuke answers her first. "What it sounds like. Hot, dry. Windy."

Shikamaru automatically jumps in with his historical knowledge. "The place has never been politically stable. They've mostly relied on the clan system, which has obviously not worked out for them. The Tani fish near the western coast and the Kubochi raise livestock in the east, and they each have sub-clans that are loyal to them. The rest of the country is uninhabited."

"What's wrong with it?" Hinata asks.

"The interior is a barren wasteland." Sasuke rolls his neck. "The rock formations are good cover, though."

Shikamaru looks at him. "You been there?"

"Once. Orochimaru was recruiting." Sasuke sounds unsympathetic – clearly he thought the assignment was beneath him.

"Did you find anyone?" Hinata can't help but ask.

Sasuke glances at her. "No one special."

There is silence for a time. "Well," Shikamaru says, "they're not known for their shinobi. They probably only have one or two chakra-using clans."

"One. If you can call it that. Ten or so members with just enough chakra to conjure a substitution."

Shikamaru and Hinata stare at him. "I was thorough," Sasuke says simply.

"What about the other lands?" Hinata persists.

Sasuke again answers her, with less patience. "The Land of Glaciers is cold. The Land of Gold is wealthy. The Land of Sake is known for sake. The Land of Otters is…full of otters."

Shikamaru glances over at her. His overdramatically dull face mocks Sasuke, and despite herself Hinata almost laughs aloud.

"The Unclaimed Lands are haunted."

Hinata's smile fades, and Shikamaru squints. "What?"

Sasuke is still speaking in the same tone, as if this is no more interesting than the Land of Otters. "They're home to yūrei. Spirits who have yet to move on."

"I've never heard that," Shikamaru protests. "I thought the Unclaimed Lands were just useless. Bad soil, no water. No one wants them."

"No one wants them because they're cursed. The plants don't grow there, the rivers have dried up. There's no weather, either. No rain or snow or sunshine."

Shikamaru's silence leads Hinata to believe that these claims are true. She leans forward, consumed by curiosity. "Have you ever talked to one?"

Sasuke looks at her, and she is almost too eager to be embarrassed. "A spirit," she clarifies.

"Most screamed or wailed. They weren't interested in talking." He pauses for a moment. "There was one that chanted in a foreign language," he amends.

Hinata sneaks a peek at Shikamaru, and he is frowning thoughtfully, perhaps contemplating the potential dangers of a land of angry spirits. Or possible solutions to the problem. With an IQ of 200, the inner workings of Shikamaru's mind are a mystery to her.

Sasuke's knee brushes hers as he shifts position, and she makes the mistake of looking up at him. Their eyes meet. Hers automatically flick away, then back. The longer she holds his gaze, the more it unnerves her, and finally she glances down at her hands.

Sasuke seems older, somehow, or taller. The fact that he has been to other exotic continents, and seen things she had only imagined were in legends, is humbling to say the least. In comparison to Sasuke's experience and Shikamaru's knowledge, she is pale and small. Her previous self-pep talks of equal worth seem silly now. "I think I'll go to bed now," she says quietly, "i-if you don't mind?"

Shikamaru blinks back to the present, and smiles. "Sure, of course," he says, getting off of the bed. He jerks his head at Sasuke, who raises one eyebrow in a 'did-you-really-just-nonverbally-command-me?' expression, but stands anyway.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata," Shikamaru says, and Sasuke glances back at her for an unenthusiastic "Goodnight."

Hinata smiles weakly at the both of them, but thinks she understands something about Sasuke now. Maybe he's so disinterested in everything because he's seen it all before. Nothing surprises him because nothing is surprising anymore.

The door is shut behind them, and Hinata sits there for a moment before making to lie down. As she is about to put her head on the pillow, she realizes belatedly that Sasuke was there just a short time ago. And Shikamaru, at the foot of the bed. They were sitting here, where she sleeps. She sits back up, embarrassed that this is embarrassing her.

In a small measure of desperation, she begins a metal list of her good qualities, but against her will it soon dissolves into her weaknesses. This list circles her mind until she is thoroughly demoralized, but exhausted enough to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke is twelve and increasingly conflicted when Naruto shakes him awake in the middle of the night during a mission.<p>

He's tired. It's been a long day, and he just got back from watch duty. He considers resisting for a moment, ignoring Naruto, but rationalizes that whatever Naruto wants, he'll just keep bothering him until he pays attention. "What," he grunts.

Naruto is quiet for a moment, and Sasuke thinks briefly that maybe he was just shifting around anxiously in his sleep – which he's done before. But then the blonde speaks. "Do you…" Naruto starts. "Do you ever think about it?"

Sasuke pushes the heels of his hands into his eyes. "About _what_," he mutters, exhausted and irritated.

Naruto's voice is smaller than usual, and sounds further away than it actually is. "You know." He lowers his voice further. "Sex."

Automatically, Sasuke glances to his left, checking for Kakashi; but their sensei is outside, on his watch shift. Sakura has opted to bring her own tent – she's still not comfortable sharing with three males. Kakashi understands, and doesn't push the issue.

So it's just him and Naruto. As usual.

Normally Sasuke would mutter an insult and go back to sleep, disregard Naruto's stupid attempts at conversation. But this, he senses, is different. Naruto sounds earnest. This is a Moment, Sasuke realizes. A bonding experience. Naruto wants to talk to him about a shared concern. And while Sasuke would never admit it, he feels a prickle of friendship for Naruto in times like these. The conversation topic, though, is awkward. He's not _un_comfortable, but he's definitely not comfortable, either. He's not quite sure why he says it, but eventually he says, "Yeah."

Naruto shifts around again. "Not Sakura, right?" He asks after a moment.

"No," Sasuke says.

But this is a lie. He has thought about Sakura like that, more than once. She's attractive, after all. But he wouldn't tell that to Naruto. Maybe out of respect or something.

"What about Ino?" Naruto asks.

"Ino tries too hard," Sasuke says automatically. It's actually the first thing that comes to mind when he thinks of Ino; too aggressive, too intrusive. Too eager. Especially when it comes to her looks. She's on a permanent diet, and makes sure everyone knows it. She's not attractive so much as aggravating. Well, unless you factor out the bossy, petty parts of her personality. And confidence is supposedly sexy. "She's okay," he concedes.

"Tenten?" Naruto asks next. Sasuke doesn't have to think very hard. "Decent." Not good, not bad. Average body, slightly above average face.

Naruto falls silent, and Sasuke doesn't blame him. Sakura, Ino and Tenten are the only girls their age they know well. They don't often interact with civilians, and Team 8 keeps mostly to themselves. Although…

As if following his thought pattern, Naruto suddenly speaks up. "What about Hinata?"

Hinata. Of the Hyuga clan. He knows her name, and not much else. He's definitely never considered her attractive before. He conjures a mental image, and frowns. There's not much to work with. Her baggy clothing hides whatever figure she has. Her face is…pleasant, but not overtly pretty. "Kinda plain," he says simply.

"What about…" Naruto searches. "Gaara's sister. Temari."

The tall blonde girl? Sasuke raises an eyebrow. He's really scrounging here. Naruto pipes up quickly. "I mean…she was hot. She had nice…" he trails off, and Sasuke can hear him moving slightly, making some sort of hand motions.

"It's pitch black. Whatever you're doing, I can't see you," Sasuke says flatly.

"Oh. Right." Naruto hesitates. "Uh…breasts. She had nice breasts."

Yes, Sasuke reluctantly admits to himself, she did. But he stays silent.

Naruto doesn't speak for a time and Sasuke assumes he fell asleep. Sasuke wouldn't blame him – he didn't give Naruto much to work with, conversation-wise. But what was Naruto expecting? "Decent" and "okay" were the best he was going to get out of Sasuke. This is him expressing himself. He considers the conversation not a complete failure, and prepares to fall in unconsciousness.

He's nearly there a few minutes later, but then Naruto is shaking him again. "I really like Sakura," he murmurs. He sounds barely conscious.

Sasuke rolls his eyes, shrugs off Naruto's hand. "Yeah. I know."

"But she likes you," Naruto insists sleepily.

"I don't like her, dobe," Sasuke says, patiently.

"Oh. Un'kay." Naruto yawns loudly, and then rolls over. "Night, Sasuke."

Sasuke just closes his eyes. But for some reason, sleep doesn't come to him. He lies there for a few minutes, wondering what it is. Maybe it's that weird respect thing again. Maybe he's guilty about lying to Naruto. Sure, he's thought about Sakura once or twice, but like he said, he doesn't like her. Not the way Naruto does.

So maybe Naruto and he are friends. He can admit that much. And maybe he doesn't really like the thought of losing that friendship. But he's not going to play nice just because they talked about girls – he still has goals far beyond being the blonde's best friend. The one thing he can do, however, is let Naruto have Sakura. He decides it, on a mission in the middle of the night when he is twelve years old and increasingly conflicted: if he can't be nice to Naruto, if they have to be rivals, he'll at least stay away from the object of Naruto's affections.

But this, too, is a lie.

* * *

><p>Hinata emerges from her room in the morning, hair mussed and eyes sleepy. She greets them politely, and her eyes flicker to Sasuke; finding him watching her, she flushes and turns away, running her tongue across dry lips.<p>

She is not the prettiest girl he has ever seen. But he still appreciates the way her eyelashes draw shadows on her cheeks in the sunlight.

Sasuke wonders what she would do if he licked her lips for her.

He bets she would let him.

* * *

><p><strong>(1)=<strong> literally, "flower cards"; used to play a variety of Japanese card games

**(2)= **traditional Japanese gambling game using dice; seen in many gangster/yakuza movies

**Me**: Whoa, did I actually finish the next chapter? Weird.

It's actually not funny how often I lose work because my computer is like "okay you have to restart now" and I'm like "nah I'll just click 'postpone for one hour'" and then I ignore the repeated warnings until someone calls me away for five minutes and my computer is like "oh shit she left the room time to restart right now and screw with all her shit".

But progress has been made. We're on our way to the Land of Water.

Oh, and happy holidays. : )


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: **Here we go again. This is the part where I say "hey, life got crazy, sorry for not updating". But you know what? I'm not gonna say it. Because I think everyone is tired of it. Let's just all be thankful that I got this thing done. Because tests. Tests are hard. And abundant. And hey, life got crazy, sorry for –

Damn it.

And remember, this story is rated M for a reason.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"We've been making good time," Captain Sencho observes. Hinata looks up from the waves lapping against the side of the ship and directs her gaze where he is pointing, at the horizon. "We should arrive early tomorrow morning."<p>

Sasuke and Shikamaru are playing cards again, but Hinata has opted out of this game. Not, she tells herself, because she is avoiding either of them. She just wants some fresh air.

The sun is just beginning to set, and she relishes the warmth on her face. The salt-heat-fish smell hardly bothers her anymore, and the gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle motions of the boat seem natural. She understands now how someone could live their entire life this way.

"Have you been there before?" the captain says, nudging to wheel slightly to the right.

"Have I…" the words take a moment to register with her. "Where?"

The captain smiles patiently. "The Land of Water."

"Oh! No. I've only heard things."

"Well, you're in for a treat. Kinoko is a lovely little place. Folks are nice, streets are clean. We won't have much time to look around tomorrow, but on the way back we'll stop here and rest."

"Is it like the main island?" Hinata voices a question that has been at the back of her mind for days now. The horror stories children tell each other of Kirigakure, the village where bodies pile up on doorsteps and men slit each others' throats for no reason, come back to her in full force.

"Geographically, I would say so. But Kinoko keeps to itself most of the time. They don't have much to do with the other islands culture-wise." Sencho peers at her with discerning eyes. "Heard about Kiri, then?"

Hinata nods hesitantly, and he shrugs. "Don't believe all they tell you. It's not such a bad place, now that the new Mizukage's in charge. Of course, in the past…"

Hinata waits, but he says no more.

What sticks in her mind now, after all these years, are the stories of the death matches. What seemed to her at the time to be one of the worst scary stories turned out to be the only true one. Hinata pictures herself as a Kirigakure academy student in the era of the Bloody Mist, and is both repelled and fascinated by the idea.

Would she have been stronger, or weaker for it? Or would she simply be dead? Would she have retained any semblance of a conscious? If given the choice to continue on to become a genin, at the risk of death, would she have chosen to do so? Would her clan, her father, even have let her choose?

"You'll like it," the captain says cheerfully. "Lots of shopping."

* * *

><p>This time, Sasuke wins. Shikamaru is impressed, but only slightly. He knew Sasuke was intelligent. In fact, he knows his exact IQ. He studied him for a bit, when they went after him the first time.<p>

Shikamaru hands over a few coins without complaint, then sprawls out on his back. "We should send a hawk to the Hokage."

"We have nothing to report."

"Eh. She likes getting routine check-ins." The statement in and of itself is not true – Tsunade doesn't _like_ them, often complains about reading them, but she insists that she be kept in the loop. Especially for "missions of this caliber". Which, if he's not mistaken, just means "missions involving dangerous former criminals."

He's about to haul himself up off the floor and ask the captain for the use of a messenger bird, but a muted pop accompanied by a cloud of smoke stops him. He rolls to watch Sasuke, who is already scratching out a note, a hawk perched on his shoulder.

"You have a summoning contract," Shikamaru says, faintly surprised. "With hawks."

Sasuke glances at him, and Shikamaru frowns slightly. "I would've expected snakes."

"I can summon snakes as well." Sasuke returns to his report. The hawk regards Shikamaru, blinking. Its amber eyes fix on his face with an innate predatory interest. Shikamaru squints at it, but other than twitching its left wing, the bird stays absolutely still.

Rolling up the parchment, Sasuke slips it into the canister attached to the hawk's back, then caps it firmly. The hawk flaps its wings, hopping off of Sasuke's shoulder, and then takes off, flying up and out of the barracks.

"Huh. No kidding," Shikamaru mumbles belatedly, and closes his eyes. He's not as comfortable as he would be with Chouji or Naruto, or even Ino; he might be splayed out on the floor, a loose, relaxed pose, but there's a certain tenseness in his muscles he can't force away. He's not sure he'll ever be _comfortable_ with Sasuke. He can appreciate the silence, though. Chouji, Ino, and Naruto often want to talk. Sasuke seems to have an aversion to conversation.

He'd take time to enjoy the quiet, but orders are orders, and he has to do a little digging. To find out what, if anything, Sasuke is plotting. He girds himself for failure. "So what's up with you and Hinata?" he asks the ceiling.

"Nothing."

A typical answer, but somehow disappointing. He doesn't know what he was expecting – of course Sasuke wouldn't be forthcoming.

"Okay. Sure. I believe you."

"Hn."

Shikamaru sighs. "That was sarcasm. I don't actually believe you."

"I'm aware."

"So then…"

"Why the sudden curiosity, Nara?"

"Well…y'know. I saw you two. On the last mission. And now you're barely talking to her."

"Am I required to talk to her?"

"No, I guess not. Still. You usually at least exchange words with your ex."

"Do you 'exchange words' with your exes?"

"I don't have any. Exes, I mean."

Sasuke's silence is self-explanatory.

Shikamaru sees the problem. "Okay, you got me there."

"In any case, Hinata isn't my 'ex'."

Shikamaru tries not to tense. She's not an ex? Is she something current? Is Sasuke about to tell him something, finally, worthwhile? "What is she, then?"

"A teammate."

Nope. 'Worthwhile' was too hopeful. "Right. And were you two…teammates…when she and Naruto got together?"

"Yes. As were you."

"…You know what I mean." Shikamaru grimaces. He can lie, but he's not great at making people spill their secrets to him. Sasuke's complete lack of emotional openness is beyond his level of expertise. He worries that this is beginning to sound like an interrogation, and switches tracks. "I'm just looking out for Naruto, you know? He's my friend."

"Oh, is that all." Shikamaru opens one eye and looks at Sasuke, who is as taciturn as ever. "Then I wouldn't worry, Nara. Naruto and I are best friends."

Shikamaru closes his eye again, but the uncharacteristic statement strikes a chord within him, and he turns it over and over in his head for the next few hours.

* * *

><p>At dinner, Sasuke sits down next to Hinata. She glances at him, wide-eyed, and Shikamaru pauses momentarily with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth.<p>

Sasuke is unaffected by their unease, chewing in silence, and they too eventually return to their meals.

* * *

><p>When they dock at Kinoko the next morning, the captain seems distracted, not bothering to reprimand the crew when a crate falls out of the netting and lands in the water. "Just fish it out," he says, waving away a nervous crewman's apology.<p>

The reason for his distraction is clear when two figures emerge from one of the shops along the docks and begin to walk towards the ship. Captain Sencho leans forward, a smile already forming on his face. "Kamome," he greets as the two women approach.

The taller of the two – and she is quite tall, Hinata sees – nods cordially. "Ozora." But her own small smile mirrors his.

The shorter female, a girl several years younger than they are, casts her eyes around aimlessly, dreamily, focusing on nothing in particular. She looks somewhat akin to the tall woman, but only slightly. While Kamome has dark blonde hair, almost brown but not quite, and a tired but kind look to her blue eyes, the girl's hair is lighter, almost washed-out, and her rounded eyes are a brilliant, almost unnatural shade of blue.

Kamome tugs the girl along, and they ascend the gangplank. She casts a glance at the three of them, studying them carefully, before turning her attention to the captain. They do not embrace, but Hinata still averts her gaze. The way they look at each other is intimate and private, and she doesn't feel she should be watching.

They speak softly for a few moments, and then Captain Sencho turns to the younger girl. "And how's my little seabird?" He says loudly, cheerfully. He wraps his arms around her, and the girl practically squeals with delight as she is lifted and swung around. As soon as she is set back on her feet she is jabbering away to an amused-looking Sencho. Abruptly the girl turns and points at the Konoha shinobi, and he smiles. "You three, come here, meet my girls!" He beckons, and is pinched by Kamome.

They do. To her left Hinata hears Shikamaru make a small, resigned sound. She too hopes that they are not being shown off like sideshow attractions.

The pale girl is practically bouncing on her feet when they reach her. Sencho introduces them, and Kamome nods politely at each of them in turn. They return the greetings, but are distracted by the near-frantic girl, who Sencho finally introduces as "the troublemaker, Umidori". The girl bobs her head at them, and then looks anxiously to Kamome for permission. Kamome nods hesitantly, and the girl launches herself at Sasuke.

For a moment, Hinata thinks she means to kiss him – but the girl stops just short of his face. She stares hard into his eyes, and Sasuke stares, unflinchingly, back. Just as suddenly, the girl swivels to face Shikamaru, and steps just as close to his face. Shikamaru, unlike Sasuke, leans back just a fraction of an inch, brow creased in discomfort. A faint smile appears on Umidori's lips, and then she is facing Hinata, and Hinata's whole vision is swallowed by ultra-blue. _Like Naruto's_, Hinata thinks faintly, but Umidori's eyes are swirling with mania. How had they looked so dreamy and unfocused earlier? Then Hinata is being hugged, thin arms wrapping around her waist and pale hair pressed to her jaw.

"Umidori," Kamome admonishes, but Hinata murmurs "it's alright," with a nervous smile. Clearly she means no harm – but she does seem off. Something is not quite right with the girl.

Umidori releases her, and steps back, and Hinata is struck by the sudden change – her posture relaxes, her smile fades slightly, and her eyes lose focus. She takes no more notice of them, and in fact doesn't seem to realize they're there at all.

They turn to Sencho for an explanation, but he just smiles, seemingly not seeing the strangeness of this behavior. It falls on Kamome to elucidate, and she clears her throat. "You'll have to forgive her. She's…ah, usually very calm. She gets these moods sometimes, when she meets new people. I'm sorry if she made you uncomfortable." The one who looks uncomfortable here is Kamome, but Sencho laughs. "These three? They're shinobi, Kamome, nothing fazes them." He probably doesn't mean to, but his eyes land on Sasuke.

Not true, Hinata thinks, but doesn't say. She glances at Sasuke as well, wonders if he is what civilians think of when they picture shinobi. Even now he stands motionless, his posture somewhere between bored and hostile, his aura somewhere between calm and icy.

Sencho is addressing them now. "There's a slight change of plans. We're going to be taking on Umidori as a passenger. She's my responsibility, but she'll probably want to visit with you three from time to time. If you aren't comfortable with that…"

Before any of them can answer, Kamome speaks again. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience. But she's very insistent about visiting the family shrine. She usually goes later in the year, but she's been talking non-stop about it for the past few weeks. I won't hear the end of it if she doesn't get to go." Kamome turns to the captain, speaking in a lower tone. "I'm sorry, Ozora. I know it's not what we planned…"

The captain speaks to her in even lower tones, clasping both her hands in his. Hinata realizes that their relationship is deeper than what Captain Sencho had let on – they have done this before, this trip to the shrine. It is a tradition. It is a family matter.

The captain looks at them again. "If you don't want to be bothered by Umidori, I can have her leave you alone."

Shikamaru smiles tiredly. "Don't worry about it. She won't bother us." The look in his eyes gives the impression that he has just agreed to be slow-roasted over a fire for several years. The two civilians smile, Sencho pleased, Kamome grateful. In the background, Umidori twirls slowly, her eyes fixed on things that are not there.

* * *

><p>The crew reacts to Umidori's presence with delight. Hinata wonders, rather uncharitably, whether or not Umidori received the same warning about the men that she did, and whether she even understood it. (Then she feels ashamed, because Umidori can't be more than twelve or thirteen. She wonders at the horrible callousness of her thoughts, finds them too distasteful to analyze, and buries them.)<p>

For Umidori smiles and dances and laughs like any other girl, but there is something…missing. She seems to be in her own world, the logic and rules of which are lost on others. At first she stood at the rail, watching as her waving sister on the dock grew smaller and smaller, until she was no longer visible. Then Umidori followed various crew members around the deck, observing their actions with mild interest. Only after several hours had passed did she seek out Hinata and her teammates. During none of this does she utter a single word.

She is met with confused stares when she pantomimes a flying motion. Impatient, she flaps her arms harder and points up, but the three of them are lost. Finally Umidori climbs onto Hinata's back and points at the crow's nest. "Oh," Hinata breathes, relieved to have finally understood what the girl wants. She hitches Umidori higher on her back, gently readjusts the girl's grip so she will not be choked, and climbs the mast, smiling embarrassedly at the old man on lookout when they reach the top and Umidori scrambles off her back. The man simply chuckles and ruffles Umidori's hair.

Hinata waits patiently, somewhat awkwardly, while Umidori stands as tall as she can and spreads her arms like a seabird. Several times she glances back at Hinata, beaming, then turns back to face into the sun. When she has decided she'd had enough, she climbs onto Hinata's back again and points down at the deck. Hinata descends, more slowly this time, and Umidori hugs her tight.

If nothing else, the strange pale girl is thought-provoking. Her curiosity and delight with common objects is nearly infectious. She spends several minutes examining the ship's wheel, ignoring Captain Sencho's nudges when she gets in the way. Hinata, by transference, begins to wonder about the wheel as well. Where did it come from? Who crafted it? What wood is it made out of – the same as the rest of the ship, or was it custom? How exactly was this ship made? How many trees were felled to build it?

These are questions for someone like Shikamaru, but she wouldn't dream of asking him. A glance over at him convinces her he's bored enough as it is. Catching her gaze, he lifts an eyebrow. "What do you think of the kid?" he jerks his head towards Umidori.

"Odd," Hinata says without much thought. It's the first thing that comes to mind.

"She's strange, for sure," he affirms, then leans against the rail. "Kinda annoying. To tell you the truth, I've never really liked kids."

"You were a kid," Hinata reminds him with a small smile, "not so long ago."

Shikamaru shrugs. "Don't remember it too well."

"He slept through most of it," Sasuke intones from behind them.

Hinata half-turns, a surprised giggle escaping her. _Sasuke made a joke_, she realizes belatedly. He's sitting up on the railing, and she suddenly imagines a large wave rocking the ship and tossing him overboard. It's not a malicious thought – in her mind, the idea that Sasuke can be tossed by anything is ridiculous, and therefore funny. Then she imagines Sasuke as a person who _could_ be thrown overboard by a wave – someone normal. A civilian. If Sasuke had been born into a civilian family…

The implications cause an inexplicable pang in her heart.

"Ha ha," Shikamaru drawls. "You wouldn't know. You were too busy kissing Naruto."

Sasuke glares, and Shikamaru smirks triumphantly. But Hinata is reeling. Oh, she thinks. Naruto and I did share the same first kiss.

Umidori skips over to them, eyes sharp and shining. "I haven't been kissed before," she declares. This is the first time she has spoken to them directly, and it stuns them into silence for a few moments.

"You heard that from over there?" Shikamaru says finally.

"No," Umidori says cheerfully, enigmatically. She tilts her head at Shikamaru. "When was your first kiss?"

Shikamaru looks surprised, then grimaces and scratches the back of his head. "I was older than you," he says after a moment. The three of them look at him, and he casually looks up at the sky, ignoring them.

Umidori settles her bright blue gaze on Hinata. "When was your first kiss?"

The combination of the topic and her recent realization and the Naruto-color of Umidori's eyes unsettle Hinata, and she involuntarily flicks her gaze towards Sasuke. She can't say for sure, but Umidori's eyes seem to spark. "Not too long ago," Hinata finally answers in a much smaller voice than she intended.

Umidori's smile is blinding. "Mine will be special," she says, abruptly. An indisputable fact.

* * *

><p>Umidori eats her dinner dutifully, but steals bites from other people's plates as well, quick as a sparrow, plucking tidbits and smiling guiltlessly at anyone who catches her. And now, she speaks – to no one, to everyone. The only times Hinata is addressed directly are when Umidori asks a question ("can I sleep with you tonight?") or makes a comment about Hinata's appearance (the girl picks up a lock of Hinata's hair and says, appreciatively, "Pretty") and other than that, Umidori chatters pointlessly to herself. She is both clingy and distant. Hinata is both annoyed and confused, and then guilty for feeling this way. Umidori is just searching for companionship, and she has temporarily attached herself to Hinata. She only wants someone to listen to her, indulge her in her fantasy world.<p>

Hinata converses with her as best she can, and only realizes she is again sitting next to Sasuke when their shoulders brush.

Umidori wriggles out of her seat and sticks herself between the two of them. She loops her arm through Hinata's, and sidles as close to her as possible. She is silent, solemn almost, and eats only from her own plate. When Shikamaru, mustering enthusiasm, offers to show her a card trick, Umidori smiles, but doesn't move.

* * *

><p>After dinner Umidori follows them to the barracks, and mimics first Shikamaru, sprawled out on the floor haphazardly, and then Sasuke, sitting straight and still. Growing bored, she ties and unties Shikamaru's ponytail, playing with his hair, even braiding it at one point. Shikamaru endures this good-naturedly, but when he falls asleep Umidori returns to Sasuke, making faces at him while he watches in stony silence.<p>

Hinata wonders at her childishness, which is characteristic of someone far younger than she. The girl's mind is a flighty thing, darting and unfocused, amused only for minutes at a time. She speaks only when it suits her, going silent in the middle of sentences. Occasionally, she zones out entirely, ignoring everyone and everything in favor of another place, imaginary things and people. Hinata recalls patients from the psychiatric ward who act like this – those who haven't developed correctly, who are unwhole, and those who have experienced deep trauma. Whatever has happened to her, Hinata feels a deep compulsion to care for Umidori and see that she is happy.

Ultimately, Umidori falls asleep slumped over on Sasuke, who behaves as if she isn't there, even though she is practically draped over his shoulder. Hinata hesitates to move her – not, she tells herself, because she is avoiding Sasuke. Umidori just looks peaceful, face slack, curled into him slightly.

Nervously, Hinata approaches and kneels in front of them, gently shaking Umidori to wake her up. She swears Sasuke is drilling a hole into her skull with his stare, and she shakes the girl more firmly. Umidori sighs deeply through her nose, then makes a series of sleepy, petulant sounds. "Umidori, you have to go to bed," Hinata insists, but the girl is unmoving. Unable to ignore him any longer, Hinata finally glances at Sasuke, who is indeed watching her. His expression catches her off guard. Rather than his usual blank look, his eyebrows are drawn down and together, eyes half-lidded. It is a look she cannot read, but one she is sure cannot be good. She instinctively wants to back away, but holds her ground through sheer force of will. This is not the time to revert to her old ways.

"Here," Sasuke says, and the proximity of his voice shakes her. He shrugs Umidori off of his shoulder, not gently but not roughly, and Hinata catches her as she slumps over.

"Thank you," Hinata mutters, gathering Umidori into her arms with some difficulty, and standing. Not anticipating the heaviness of Umidori's near-comatose body, she stumbles slightly, but a hand on her shoulder steadies her. She can feel blood rise to her cheeks, and curses it for the thousandth time in her life. She doesn't look up. She's sure she doesn't want to examine the look on Sasuke's face too closely. She adjusts Umidori to have an excuse to step away.

"Oyasumi," Sasuke says offhandedly, already turning from her.

"Good night," Hinata repeats, backing away to her small room. She sets Umidori gently on the bed, closes the door behind her, and presses the chilled backs of her hands to her hot cheeks, embarrassed and frustrated and something else, other feelings that have no name.

* * *

><p>Hinata wakes to the sensation of a hand on her cheek. Before she can open her eyes, the blue-eyed girl presses the pad of her thumb to Hinata's eyelid, the lightest of touches. "You and I," she whispers, "have the Sight."<p>

With one eye open, in the dark, Hinata can barely make out Umidori's face, close though it is to her own. "The Sight?"

"I see the underneath. You see it too. Don't you?" It is not a question.

Suddenly very much awake, Hinata wonders if Umidori knows of the Byakugan, and how. Then she wonders what kind of "Sight" Umidori thinks she has. When she says nothing for a few moments, Umidori removes her thumb. "When I dream, I see all of the tomorrows. But sometimes I can do it when I'm awake. I can read people too. I read you today…I tried to. It's harder in the day. The night is such a wonderful time to see things, don't you think?" Umidori's voice is momentarily dreamy and faraway. "Do you want me to read you now?" she asks earnestly.

"I…well, a-alright," Hinata murmurs, still struck.

Umidori goes very still, and Hinata senses somehow that her unnaturally bright eyes are wide open. If she squints hard enough, she can see their unearthly glow. "Do not let them cut you," she says in a soft, distant voice. "You of thin skin and thick blood. Hold both the sky and the sea, but trust neither. The sea is not so cold, but it is dark and deep. Do not swim out too far, or you will drown. The sky is bright, but only in the day – do not stay out too long after nightfall, or you will be blinded. And if you stand still, the hounds will swallow you; listen for the skylark's silence. The sun kisses the mountains, but the tide bites the shore. A shadow sits on the half moon throne, and you must bleed it to death."

Hinata's chest is inexplicably tight – she understands none of what Umidori has said, and the accompanying images confuse and frighten her. "What does that mean?" she whispers. "Umidori?"

Her answer is silence.

* * *

><p>Sasuke is fifteen and increasingly restless when Suigetsu shoves at his shoulder, grinning.<p>

"C'mon, it's just an hour," he cajoles. "Not like we don't have the time."

_Time is all I have_, Sasuke thinks boredly. He's wasting it away, doing Orochimaru's dirty work. "No," is his answer.

Suigetsu scowls faintly. "We finished the mission," he insists, a note of teenage whine creeping into his voice. "And we have the money. I think I deserve it." He eyes Sasuke critically. "Aren't you tired of doing it by yourself?"

If he were so inclined, he might wrinkle his nose right now. This is not a conversation he ever wants to have with anyone, let alone Suigetsu. "Do what you want," Sasuke says. "We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"No, hey, I'm not going alone," the shark-like boy does whine this time. "You gotta be my wingman." At Sasuke's silence, he repeats, "C'mon. Just an hour."

Tired and irritated, Sasuke acquiesces. "If it will shut you up."

Jubilant, Suigetsu jumps to his feet. "Oh man, this is gonna be great." He fist-pumps the air, and Sasuke is reminded, annoyingly, of Naruto. A Naruto gone wrong, sleazy and smiling on the outside and rotten on the inside.

They share one thing in common – Suigetsu chatters inanely the entire walk there.

When they arrive, Suigetsu is smiling widely, displaying rows of razor teeth, and the other patrons shift uneasily away from them. The two of them approach the front desk, and Suigetsu clears his throat to get the woman's attention. "Two, please," he holds up two fingers, winking at her. She, clearly approaching middle age but successfully warding it off with makeup, raises a carefully painted eyebrow. Suigetsu gets the message and drops a bag of coins on the desk proudly. Nonplussed, the woman counts it out. "This will get you half an hour," she says, and Suigetsu nods impatiently. She gestures to a doorway behind the desk, and Sasuke and Suigetsu enter.

"Kinda curious as to which one you'll pick," Suigetsu says as they climb a set of stairs. "I mean, you never talk about it."

"I don't want one," Sasuke intones.

"You're already here, and I already paid for it," Suigetsu points out. "You might as well." Then he is momentarily serious, the smile fading from his face and eyes, replaced by something murky and poisonous. "Never know when you're gonna get locked up again."

They step from the dark staircase to a well-lit room, golden lamplight bathing everything and everyone. Suigetsu is like a child in a candy store as he surveys the options. "Oooh, that one," he breathes, nodding towards a red-haired woman in a blue kimono. She, noticing his gaze, lets her eyelids fall and crooks a finger at him. Suigetsu throws a backward grin at Sasuke, then follows the woman into an adjoining room.

Sasuke stands alone, feeling something like uncomfortable, except he never feels uncomfortable anymore. He doesn't feel much of anything anymore. His gaze wanders, disconnected from his surroundings, ignoring the looks the women send his way, clawing and pulling at him with their eyes. The most prominent color is red, followed by purple, and everything is oversaturated, a rich array that is supposed to entice, but that leaves Sasuke with the beginnings of a headache.

His eyes rest momentarily, though, on a certain color. An inky black, like his. A curtain of hair, shiny and smooth, swept over a pale shoulder. He is fleetingly interested out of habit; when he was younger, and he saw hair like his, or skin like his, or eyes like his, he would entertain a brief hope that somehow, his brother had missed one. Idiotic thoughts, but he could not be blamed for childhood foolishness.

The woman attached to the hair has noticed him. Her eyes are brown, outlined in kohl, her face thin. She sees him, recognizes him as a potential customer, and her eyelids lower in much the same manner as the other woman. He does not move, so she comes to him – her walk is sinuous, slinking. She rests a single finger on his collar. "Do I please you?" she asks quietly, tonelessly. She has not yet determined what he wants her to be, and so she stays a blank canvas.

Sasuke looks at her, feels nothing. Might as well, Suigetsu's voice echoes in his ear. A way to pass the time for half an hour. His thoughts are as stripped of feeling as her face.

He nods, once, and she lowers her lashes further, looking up at him through them, sultry. It is practiced and devoid of any real desire. "This way," she says, and leads him out of the golden-lit room, down a hallway, and into a smaller, darker room.

Sasuke takes the room in. A sleeping pallet, a table in the corner with a vase on it. Moonlight pours in through an open window. Again, he feels disconnected, as if someone else is moving his body and he is just watching. And he doesn't particularly care.

The woman turns to him, sweeping her hair over the opposite shoulder, and begins to untie her obi. She disrobes slowly, not taking her eyes off his. He does the same, not looking at the rest of her until she is completely bare. This, too, he takes in. Breasts, waist, hips, thighs. A warm, willing body.

She invites him to the pallet, and undresses him herself. He shrugs out of his clothes and glances out the window, a sense of chores, of routine washing over him. He settles on top of her, then sits back up. "Turn around," he says, the first time he has spoken to her, and she does so without complaint. The thought of looking into her expressionless, kohl-adorned face while he is inside her is draining.

Even while he's holding her hips, moving his against them, he really just wants to pull out and get dressed. It isn't that her body isn't pleasing; after a few minutes he feels the tug of impending release, and picks up his pace slightly. It's that there is nothing cognitively exciting about this. His peers' obsession with sex is perplexing. There are more important things to do.

Again, he feels he is wasting his time. The time that he has so much and so little of.

Afterwards, she smokes daintily, and he lies on his back, waiting for their bought time to end. She offers him her cigarette, and he declines wordlessly. "You're very handsome," she tells him. He ignores her, and stares up at the stark white ceiling. He wonders idly if he might have enjoyed it more had she been enthusiastic.

"Was that your first time?" she asks.

Now he cannot ignore her, because his continuing silence will give her the answer. He sees no real reason to lie to a whore, but the idea that this woman is his first is unsettling somehow. That she has done this hundreds of times, and he never. "Yes," he says.

She nods. "I hope I pleased you."

He shrugs, but he is wondering. She is experienced, mature; sex is her profession. By all accounts it should have been a pleasurable experience. Yet it wasn't. Perhaps the key is not experience or maturity, but innocence. Maybe if she had been innocent, if it had been her first time and not his, he would have enjoyed it more. He tests the idea, imagining her a virgin, and he takes what he wants while she is confused and unsure. The thought is appealing.

It is power, he decides. Power is attractive. Not in the partner, but over the partner. He vaguely recognizes this concept as fucked up; normal people don't think like this. He knows that. But even if he wanted to care, he's fairly sure he couldn't. The rest of the world is fucked up, too.

He leaves when time is up, meets Suigetsu coming out of his room, stretching and grinning, looking quite pleased with himself. He waggles his eyebrows at Sasuke, but Sasuke ignores him and they make their way out of the brothel.

"I'd say that was money well spent," Suigetsu sighs as they walk down the street. "Bitch was a pro with her mouth." He puts his arms behind his head, limbs loose and relaxed. "How was yours?"

Sasuke shrugs.

Suigetsu shrugs as well, more emphatically. "Ah, well. Sometimes you pick a dud. Better luck next time," he sympathizes.

They again walk the deserted street in silence. Sasuke decides he'll make a short trip to the bathhouse when they get back to the inn. If they want to return as fast as possible, they'll have to get up early, but his desire to bathe outweighs the heaviness in his bones.

"I'm never going back to that fucking tank," Suigetsu says suddenly, forcefully.

Sasuke inclines his head. This information is not surprising, but it is disappointing. It means that Suigetsu will not go back without a fight. It means that he, Sasuke, will have to put him back. It means more menial work, another waste of time.

His mind returns to the whore, and his lack of interest…and then he moves on. Sasuke does not decide to do anything to resolve the matter. He does not promise himself anything, because there is only one promise that matters now, and it concerns the reason there are no more black-haired, red-eyed people in the world.

* * *

><p>Hinata dreams.<p>

In her dreams that night, Umidori clings to her, and cannot be dislodged. She whispers prophecies to Hinata about all the tomorrows, and Hinata's ears begin to bleed. Sasuke, frowning, takes his katana and cuts Umidori away like a cancer. Hinata is breathless, and no words will come from her mouth, but somehow she thanks him. Her heart is beating fast, and she's blushing again – but she's not scared, she's expecting something. Sasuke steps over Umidori's body towards her, and the feelings that have no name swallow Hinata whole.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>Things are gettin' serious up in this ship.

Meet Umidori, your average everyday delusional with a side of attachment issues. Or is she?

Aw, Sasuke and Suigetsu are bonding. Over paid sex.

Writing about prostitution always makes me a little sad and queasy. I've read too many reports and researched too many cases for school to ever find it romantic. It was necessary for the story, but I depressed me to include it.

Leave your thoughts.


	9. Chapter 9

**Me**: I can't tell you how many times I reworked this chapter. I finally like it. Also, if you're confused about the chapter numbers, I took the first three down and replaced them with one new one. I even changed the story description. Slowly, verrrry slowly, this story is improving. Don't forget to check out the first chapter!

Enjoy.

* * *

><p>The box tumbles off the edge of the cliff, and Naruto swears loudly. He scrambles to his feet and lunges after it, only to be stopped short by a gigantic paw slamming into his stomach. His torso lurches forward while his midsection stays in place, and he coughs out all the air in his lungs. <em>Damn<em>, that hurts. But before he can think anything beyond that he's sailing through the air. If there was any breath left in his body it leaves at the impact of his back and the ground, and he has only a moment to recover before jaws come crashing down. He rolls out of the way just in time, hacking uncontrollably.

Regaining his footing, Naruto leaps a safe distance away, heaving. He bumps shoulders with Kakashi, who is backing up from his own opponent, a giant of a man who breathes sparks with every exhale. The huge snarling dog circles them, the boy who summoned it seated comfortably on its back. He grasps the dog's ruff with one hand and waves at them with the other, smiling. "That kid's starting to piss me off," Naruto huffs.

"Naruto," Kakashi says sharply, and the blonde snaps to attention. "I'll distract them. You get the box."

"Gotcha." They slowly rotate, back to back, shifting so that Kakashi has both the man and the canine summon in his sights, and Naruto has more or less a straight shot to the cliff.

The chirping and screeching of birds fills the air, and the electric current raises the hair on his arms. It's a familiar sound and sensation. He used to equate it with Team 7 and confidence and brotherhood. Then, he equated it with battles and anxiety and a seemingly endless search. It still gives him a moment of pause, like maybe someone is about to stomp all over his feelings and tell him they can never be friends again before trying to put a fist through his stomach. But he swallows the bubble of concern and reminds himself that the Chidori has more than one wielder. And Kakashi has always been on his side. Even so, he shifts back just a fraction of an inch, bumping into his sensei again, just to remind himself that they are back to back, fighting the same fight.

One word from Kakashi, "now", and he's off, lungs ballooning with air now, exhilaration lifting his feet from the ground. He runs on wind.

* * *

><p>The fire-breathing man is dead, but the boy is slung over Kakashi's shoulder, hands bound, glaring back at Naruto as they leap through the trees. He smiles at the kid, waving, and receives a sneer.<p>

Naruto's pleased they succeeded in their mission, aggravated that his abdomen is still tender, but most prominently he feels relief. He's relieved the boy didn't end up dead. He's relieved they didn't kill him. Out of necessity or on accident. What the hell was he doing there, anyway?

Naruto leaps up next to Kakashi. "So why were you with that thug?" he asks the kid, curious.

"Why are you with this thug?" The kid shoots back, jerking his head at Kakashi.

Naruto has the conflicting urge to frown and laugh, so he does a weird combination of both. "Have some respect. This guy trained me. He's my sensei."

"Well Ichiro trained me. And now he's dead. Your sensei killed my sensei." The boy pauses, glares harder. "And my dog."

Kakashi glances over his shoulder. "I apologize. I didn't want it to come to that, but our mission was to retrieve that box and return it to the shrine. Your sensei was prepared to fight to the death for it."

"I was too," the boy snaps petulantly.

"Why did you want it so bad, anyhow?" Naruto asks. "It's just some old comb."

For the first time, the boy looks almost sad. "I don't know. Ichiro said it was important. He said the boss wanted it."

"Boss?" Naruto asks. "What boss?"

"I don't know," the kid repeats, pouting again. "I only talked to Ichiro. He said that even though he was my boss, he had a boss too. And someday his boss would be my boss." His small face crumples. "But now I'm never gonna get to meet him, cause we failed our mission, and Ichiro's dead, and it's your fault." He shoots a withering look at Naruto.

"Hey, you and your sensei stole from a shrine," Naruto argues. "We were just doing our job."

"We were too," the kid says, disturbingly sincere. And then, he begins to cry. Quiet, undramatic, but heartwrenching all the same.

Naruto flinches. "Whoa, hey, I'm sorry kid, I didn't mean to – "

"Naruto," Kakashi says quietly. "Leave him alone for now. He's been through a lot today."

The blonde presses his lips together, and lets himself fall behind slightly. He glances down at the ornately carved box tucked under his arm. It looks expensive, but it got a little banged up in the fight and the fall. It's probably worth much less now. The real treasure, as explained by the priestess, is the comb inside. It's sacred, for some reason or another. Sacred enough that several monks died protecting it before Ichiro and the kid got ahold of it. Naruto doesn't really understand. What's so great about ancient artifacts that people are willing to die for them? Naruto's pretty sure he wouldn't die for a comb in a box, no matter how old it is.

He looks back up at the kid, staring off into the distance, a steady flow of tears staining his cheeks. Naruto feels more than the standard pity for a child who has lost someone; he feels sympathy. He's known death as well. People he's loved have been taken from him (and one of them given back, he thinks with a grateful glance to Kakashi) and it always hurts. That it's the reality of shinobi life, that they all died honorably, doesn't make it any easier. But he's stronger now, strong enough to protect them, his sensei and his team and his friends and Hinata, Hinata. He loves them. He loves her. He loves her so much – yes he does, he knows it's love – and it hurts to be away from her, and if anything ever happened to her…

He can't think like that. He won't. She's in good hands; Shikamaru, if not Sasuke, will make sure she's okay. She can take care of herself. And if she can't, if everything else fails, nothing will happen to her ever again, because _he_ will protect her.

Naruto knows what he'd die for. He'd die for the people he loves.

* * *

><p>Hinata wakes to absolute silence. She listens for voices, for footsteps, but there is nothing. She shakes Shikamaru and Sasuke awake and they climb up on deck, immediately struck by the fact that they can't see more than ten feet in front of them. A thick fog has settled around them, and for once the ocean is almost entirely still.<p>

Sencho is at the wheel, squinting into the fog. "It's unnatural," he mutters. "Can't see a damn thing. We'll have to wait it out – I won't risk getting gutted by the rocks around the cliffs."

The three don't bother going back to the barracks, staying up on deck instead, playing a few rounds of cards to pass the time. Hours go by. The ship searches the coast for a lighthouse, but dares not venture too close to land. The more time they spend searching, the more Umidori grows restless, and eventually ceases to speak to anyone. Captain Sencho speaks only when necessary. Even the crew is quieter, more solemn, though in reaction to the fog or Umidori's reticence is unclear. Umidori walks by them only once, nodding in acknowledgement, and then spends her time either at the bow of the ship, or by the wheel with the captain, staring intently at the horizon.

Very soon they will part ways. Umidori and Sencho will go to the shrine, and the three of them will continue on their mission. It is only by chance that they have stayed together this long, suspended in the ghostly mist. In fact, it is only by chance that Umidori is with them now, instead of later, when Kamome mentioned she normally went. Hinata feels that she will miss the girl, even for the relatively short time they will be apart. Umidori is someone who requires attention, protection. A part of Hinata is pleased to fill the role.

When she was very young Hinata thought she might like to have a younger sister to coddle and protect and indulge, and she had done so with Hanabi until the younger Hyuga made it clear that she was not the type to be coddled and protected. Hinata had reluctantly left Hanabi to her own devices, and watched her grow into the polite, distant, capable young woman she was today. If Hanabi was independent in the extreme, then Umidori was the opposite, dependent to the point that Hinata wonders how life without the supervision of Kamome is possible.

If she thinks about it, she realizes it isn't.

Shikamaru suggests, out of boredom more than anything else, Hinata suspects, that they go over their strategy once again. "The Tani asked for military aid," he says, "but it might be possible to resolve this matter peacefully."

"They don't seem to be on speaking terms," Hinata says.

Shikamaru frowns. "Well, as outsiders with no stake in the conflict, we could act as mediators between the two clans." He absently flicks his lighter a few times. He's taken to fiddling with it lately as they get closer to their destination. Maybe the strange near-silence of the ship is getting to him, as it is to Hinata. "Of course, it could be that there's no way to keep the peace. If so, we stick to the original plan, observe and report back to the Hokage."

"In that case we should travel to the capital and meet with the Kubochi leaders," Sasuke says. "They'll have a different version of the events."

Shikamaru nods slowly. "Okay. After a few days we'll go there, present ourselves as emissaries."

"Three emissaries are excessive. One should stay behind with the Tani," Sasuke says. He gestures to Hinata. "You and Hyuga go."

Shikamaru stops flicking his lighter. "No," he says, a bit sharply. "We should all go. As a team."

"That's unnecessary. Only one person is needed to negotiate. The second person is a back-up, in case negotiations fail."

"What do you mean, 'fail'? Worst case, they reject the peace offer and send us on our way."

"That's far from the worst case. We come on behalf of the Tani. We'll be suspected as spies."

"We come on our own behalf. We haven't picked sides yet."

"We answered the Tani's request for aid. We accepted responsibility for their wellbeing."

"We didn't accept, we said we'd observe the situation and work from there."

"The Kubochi won't see it that way."

"Oh yeah?"

"I've dealt with Kubochi clan leaders before."

"Then why don't you want to deal with them now?"

"Negotiations failed before."

"I wonder whose fault that was."

"Arguing about this isn't helping anyone," Hinata breaks in, concerned that this is escalating beyond the normal banter. "We…we should focus on what we're going to say to them."

"Actually, Hinata," Shikamaru says, not taking his eyes off of Sasuke, "I kinda want to know why Sasuke doesn't want to go to the capital."

"If I went with you it would only complicate the matter. Like I said, I've dealt with them before. They will be biased due to my past actions."

"Just what the hell did you do that would make the Kubochi hate you so much, huh?"

"I was recruiting," Sasuke repeats.

"Ah, right, I forgot. That whole thing where you left the village to join a traitor who killed our Hokage and then spent years as his errand boy/assassin." Shikamaru's voice drips with sarcasm, and Hinata winces.

Sasuke's eyes narrow. "If you have something to say, say it."

"Fine. You were a traitor, a lot of people think you still are, and guess what? I don't trust you."

"Shikamaru," Hinata admonishes quietly. The genuine dislike in his voice surprises her.

He looks at her, eyes hard. "Well, what's your vote, Hinata? I'm open to suggestion."

Now they're both waiting. Staring at her. Always, her instinct has been to shrink into herself, become invisible. Her shoulders automatically pull inwards, but she fights the impulse. A few years earlier, and she would gladly have fainted, even if she had to fake it, to avoid such a decision. But she is not that girl anymore, that wisp of a thing who bowed under even moderate expectations and so easily bended to the wills of others. She is someone who counts. "I think we should stay together," she says slowly, but (she hopes) firmly. "We're a team. The Tani and the Kubochi should see that."

Shikamaru blinks, then a faint smile softens his features. "Right. That's what I've been saying."

She looks at Sasuke, imploringly. "If they recognize you, we can explain the situation. What you did…it can't have been that bad." A reassurance. But despite her best efforts it is a question too.

Sasuke doesn't answer with words. He holds her gaze, and Hinata is filled with dread at what the Sasuke of only a few years ago would have been able and willing to do. It frightens her more than she'd like, and she forces herself to move on quickly before she can dwell on it. "Well," she says softly, "it…could work to our advantage?" She darts a glance at Shikamaru, but he is looking at Sasuke, expression grim.

Finally, Sasuke speaks. "They do fear me. And they do respond to fear." There's no remorse, nor pride. Fact is fact. The loathing, the terror he inspires don't seem to affect him one way or the other. It concerns her, it scares her, that the feelings of others are so meaningless in his eyes.

Again she is saved from ruminating – light footsteps alert them to Umidori's approach. She is frowning. "You're being noisy," she says.

After a moment Shikamaru apologizes. "Sorry, kid. Won't happen again." His brow wrinkles. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, why the sudden quiet? You were talking ears off before."

Umidori plops herself down in their informal circle, dropping her chin in her hands. "We're getting closer to the shrine," she says solemnly. "They're getting louder."

"The crew?" Shikamaru asks skeptically.

Umidori actually giggles. "No…"

"Who?" Hinata coaxes gently when Umidori doesn't elaborate.

Umidori looks surprised; the answer is obvious to her. "The spirits."

The three of them exchange glances. "Umidori," Hinata says, drawing the girl's attention, "where is your family shrine?"

But it's Sasuke who answers, less a revelation than a confirmation. "The Unclaimed Lands."

Umidori nods. "When we get really close they start talking a lot. I can't concentrate. There's…too many voices. They're all so sad." Her face holds a troubled expression usually reserved for those much older.

"The spirits talk to you?" Shikamaru asks, incredulous.

Umidori nods, and looks like she might say something else, but just then the change overtakes her. Her eyes become glassy, her expression melts into one of tranquility, and she rises. "No more yelling, please," she says softly, and Hinata isn't sure if she's talking to them. The girl turns and walks back up to the bow without another word.

No one says anything. Hinata clears her throat. "Well," she says, looking at Sasuke, "you did tell us…"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Duh, his expression says.

"Or the kid is delusional," Shikamaru supplies absently. He seems to be thinking something over.

Hinata bites her lip, looking to the front of the ship where Umidori stands alone. "Possibly. It's strange that Captain Sencho never told us…"

Abruptly Shikamaru snaps his fingers. "I got it," he says. "That's what it reminds me of. The Unclaimed Lands are just like the land of the dead, from the myths. Yomi. Land of spirits…cold, dark…no weather, nothing grows there…"

"Legends are usually based on some sort of truth," Hinata offers after a brief silence. She doesn't want to put too much faith in the idea, but the more she thinks about it, the more sense it makes. There are striking resemblances…

"The Unclaimed Lands don't concern us," Sasuke says. "We have a mission."

Shikamaru yawns. The uncharacteristic fight seems to have left him. "Yeah, yeah. Interesting theory, though."

Hinata, more at ease now that the tension has passed, nudges him teasingly. "Because it was yours."

Shikamaru cocks an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. I am the most interesting person I know." He yawns again, involuntarily. "See? Talking to other people puts me to sleep."

"The feeling is mutual," Sasuke murmurs. Shikamaru hears, and shoots him a dirty look, but doesn't counter.

Hinata smiles, but it's uneasy, and worry lingers heavily. Before, they had confined themselves to silent dislike and venomless jabs, but this was more. It was personal. Hinata is glad that what she said didn't make things worse…rather, it seemed to diffuse the situation.

She hasn't allowed herself to think about her dream from last night until now, but it disturbs her deeply. Sasuke was featured heavily, and in such an unsettling role. Tonight, she prays for a dreamless sleep.

She is successful, for a time.

* * *

><p>Sometime during the night she is awoken by Umidori crawling in with her, no longer glassy-eyed. "They're very loud," she whispers when she is settled. "I can't sleep."<p>

Hinata doesn't know what to say. "Have you tried…do you know if you can block them out?"

Umidori shakes her head. "They need me," she says matter-of-factly. "I can't shut my ears."

"Well, try to rest," Hinata murmurs, reaching out to smooth down Umidori's hair. "You can hear them just as well in your dreams." She has no idea if this is true, if Umidori is just disturbed, or if spirits really do talk to her. And if they do, whether they can reach her in dreams. But it seems like the right thing to say. Umidori closes her eyes momentarily, but then opens them wide.

"Do you want me to read you again?" she asks earnestly.

Hinata stifles a yawn badly. "I thought you already saw my tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is always changing," Umidori says seriously.

Humming, Hinata nods, closes her eyes. She still doesn't know quite what to make of Umidori's last "reading". It was very…creative. She's a gifted storyteller. Or, if she is to be believed, an oracle. Whichever, Hinata will indulge her again.

The sound of Umidori's voice lulls Hinata enough that she has to strain through near-sleep to hear the words. "The shadow's prisoner is screaming, but no one listens, and no one can touch. A gift waits in the dark – the lips must receive it, the blood must carry it, and the skin must let it spill. Already the sea churns, and there is not much time. Two there are, one will there be. Three must be born again to stop the first, but one is missing, and two are lost."

Hinata cracks one eye open. Again, the imagery is ominous and confusing. Hinata wonders if Umidori has ever had a happy reading. "Tomorrow sounds bleak, Umidori," she mumbles.

"It's his fault," the girl says, but if she says anything else, Hinata doesn't hear it. She is dreaming.

* * *

><p>"You did this," someone is saying. Hinata takes a moment to register. There's blood. Everywhere. It's splattered all across the walls, even the ceiling, and there's so much on the floor that a single puddle has formed. In fact she's standing in it. And she can feel it elsewhere, dried flecks across her face and hands. She looks down, and finds copious bloodstains on her jacket and pants. Some of it is still warm. None of it is hers.<p>

She turns around, frowning. Tears are gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I know."

"So clean it up." Sasuke kicks at a discarded sword, and it sloshes through the blood puddle, sending a miniature tidal wave toward her feet.

"I don't have a broom," she says.

He touches her chin, and she has only a second to wonder how he got so close. He leaves a lukewarm, wet smear of blood on her jawline, and she sees that his hands are dripping with it. His clothing is in worse shape than hers, and his face, too, has a smattering of blood droplets. They make her think, absurdly, of macabre freckles.

"You're going to have to find a way," he says.

She wipes at her eyes, smearing blood across them. "I can't do it. You killed too many." There are no corpses, and the room is nondescript, but somehow she knows, without a doubt, that all the blood belongs to the Kubochi clan leaders.

"I got rid of the bodies. The blood is your job."

"Where's Shikamaru?" she asks, looking around.

Sasuke shrugs. "The blood is your job," he repeats.

She touches the sliding door nearest to her, noting that the bamboo patterned paper is unsalvageable. "What's behind this door?"

"Yesterday," Sasuke says. "Don't open it."

She does. Blood comes rushing in, a red tide that laps at her ankles. She shudders. It's thick, viscous, cold. It's the most unpleasant thing she's ever felt. And still it comes, more, rising to her calves, then her knees.

They both stand there, watching it pour in. "I didn't think you'd like it," Sasuke mentions. "You'll have to clean this up too."

Hinata nods, watching the blood creep up her thighs. It's only fair.

* * *

><p>Once upon a time, Sasuke had dreams of the future. All of them ended with Itachi's blood on his blade. Now, he dreams only of the past.<p>

Sasuke is sixteen and increasingly numb when Karin crawls to him, biting her lip.

"I'm cold," she whispers, a hint of whine behind it. Karin has nearly perfected this tone, this hushed plea dripping with sex. Her glasses are gone, hanging off the v of her slightly unzipped shirt. They pull the fabric down, and in this position Sasuke can into the dark, shadowy space between shirt and skin, between her breasts.

She wants him, in the way that women have always wanted him, for the same reasons that women have always wanted him. It's not a new idea, what she hinted at in the past and is now overtly suggesting. He's already considered it. But why waste a perfectly good tracker. "Get a blanket," he says.

Her cheeks are flushed, the tiniest bit. They always are whenever they are alone, whenever she talks to him like this. A long time ago, another bright-haired kunoichi blushed to talk to him. "I have a blanket, but…I can't get warm." She sits back on her heels, arches her back slightly, pushing out her chest. "I thought maybe we could share body heat…?" Most of what Karin does and says is practiced, enticing by design. In that way she's like his first partner, the whore, but of course the whore didn't get attached.

He does not actively want a particular woman, has not given much thought as to what his ideal would be, but knows it would not be Karin. There are a multitude of reasons, the main one being she's infatuated with him. Like all girls similarly afflicted, she will be disappointed and weepy when he does not change for her. When he does not stay for her.

Maybe it's the outstanding similarities, or maybe he's feeling nostalgic, but his thoughts keep returning to Sakura.

Everyone expected them to end up together, except the dobe who held out some stupid hope he might get the girl in the end. Even Sasuke had thought at one point that he might give in and be with her someday, just because he could and she was there and willing and it would be simple and uncomplicated. They already knew each other, after all, as well as children could. But those were half-formed, thoughtless ideas from a time before he relearned his purpose.

Those plans blew away in the wind the night he left Konoha and left Sakura on a bench.

It had been the first time he'd laid a hand on her intending to inflict damage. It was different than hitting Naruto. She hadn't defended herself. He had stood looking at her for a moment, crumpled on the ground, and felt the world shift under him.

The memories don't feel like his, mainly because who he is now has little to do with who he was then. There's no reason to hold himself to promises he made when he was a Konoha shinobi, when he still thought he might be able to live that life. His attachment to Sakura, to Naruto, is broken.

"You're always so warm," Karin is saying, almost reverently. "And your chakra is so…cool…" she breathes the last part.

Sasuke, lost in thought, had almost forgotten she was there. He looks at her fully for the first time since she approached him, and she appears to swoon a bit. "Go to bed, Karin. We're traveling tomorrow."

Her shoulders slump marginally, and her face falls. "Okay," she whispers, resigned, no sexy whine to her voice now. She crawls back to her sleeping mat and curls up, facing away from him. He wonders briefly if she's crying.

He wouldn't care if she was. There was a time in his life where he would have. He still might not have done anything about it, but he would have felt a measure of guilt for causing it. Now there's nothing.

And there will be nothing, until he kills Itachi. Until he serves his purpose. Until then, he has no use for friends or lovers.

* * *

><p>Shikamaru is grateful to see land. The ocean view only holds so much appeal, and it'll be too soon before he sees another deck of Hanafuda cards. When they step off the ship onto dry land at last, he finds comfort in the solid, unmoving earth under him. While the crew is unloading cargo, Sencho sees them off. "I'll expect you back here in a week," he tells them. "And I hope you have stories to tell me."<p>

Shikamaru half-grins. "We'll be here."

The girl is genuinely sad to see them go. She hugs him first, squeezing hard, and he returns it with real affection. She's a good kid. Weird, but sweet. Interesting, with her connection to the Unclaimed Lands. She lets go of him and to his surprise, goes to hug Sasuke. The Uchiha doesn't push her away, but certainly doesn't reciprocate. The last and longest hug belongs to Hinata, who smiles and pats Umidori's head. The girl buries her face in Hinata's collar, much like she did when they first met. For whatever reason, Umidori has latched onto her. Maybe it's a desire for female company, or maybe Hinata just has that effect on kids. She was always the most gentle and caring of their age group. It's not the first time Shikamaru has thought she'd make a good mother.

In fact, back when he'd wanted a quiet, normal life with a quiet, normal wife, she was the first person that came to mind. She's the least threatening girl he knows, shinobi or civilian, and probably the nicest. While she doesn't quite meet his description of "plain", she's not so beautiful as to cause problems.

That's not what he really wants anymore, though. He thinks he might like his women a little more feisty. A little more of a challenge. Someone who will stand up to him and give him hell once in a while. Tell him to act like a man. Just in general, of course. He doesn't have a certain woman in mind.

"Shikamaru," Hinata murmurs so no one else can hear, "you're blushing."

He grimaces at the amusement in her voice, scratches the back of his head. "No I'm not."

Umidori steps away from Hinata, scrutinizes him. A grin blossoms on her face. "You are," she says cheerfully. "Red like a desert sunrise."

Before Shikamaru can properly register his shock, Sencho is ushering Umidori away. "All right, seabird, they have to be on their way, and you have to get ready to leave. You'll see them soon." She skips back up the gangplank, waving at them once she reaches the top. The captain chuckles. "It's a day's walk to the Tani camp, but I'll bet you three can make it there in two hours. You know the way?"

Shikamaru shoulders his bag, hoping his face is not still red. "They included a map with their missive."

"Excellent. Safe travels, then." His expression turns serious. "If for any reason you're late, I'll wait an extra day for you, but I can't delay any longer than that."

"We understand," Hinata says. "We'll try our best." She smiles, but it's got something of a wince to it. Shikamaru will ask about it later. A kind of fond exasperation overtakes him; she's much more fragile, emotionally, than a kunoichi ought to be. But she's still his teammate. He's kind of attached to her now, her practical but idealogical nature and her short bursts of playfulness.

"I don't doubt it, girl. If anyone can help those poor bastards, it's you three. Now," Sencho claps his hands, "off with you."

They thank him for his generosity, which he waves away good-naturedly, and then they depart, heading north from the bustling port town.

* * *

><p>It turns out Shikamaru doesn't need to ask Hinata what's on her mind. She tells him everything without words.<p>

* * *

><p>Sasuke knows she's looking at him the way he knows when an attack is coming, the way he knows the handle of his blade; both instinctual and learned. She wants him, in the way that women have always wanted him.<p>

They are resting for a few minutes while Shikamaru studies the crude map they were given. The small outcropping of rocks provides at least some cover on this seemingly endless prairie. Sasuke leans against the biggest rock, scouting the horizon. Hinata sits across from him, next to Shikamaru, who is trying to gauge their location. But of course their team leader isn't solely focused on directions.

Shikamaru is looking too. Assessing the situation, like any good analyst would. And Shikamaru is better than good. Surely he's already picked apart Hinata's mannerisms and drawn his own conclusions. Unfortunately, for all his talent at reading facial expressions and body language, he can't read minds. He will get nothing from Sasuke.

Usually Hinata looks elsewhere. He takes her wariness as a victory, a sign that he is affecting her, but this is much better. He waits until Shikamaru has refocused his attention on the map, and catches her just as she's glancing at him again. When his eyes meet hers, she looks away quickly, a balled fist coming up to her mouth so she can hide behind it. She looks like he just suggested something sordid, something disgusting. Her maidenly distress draws something up from inside him, dark and gnawing.

_.:No Hinata, you wanted this, you looked at me, you can't take it back no matter how hard you blush:._

And as if she's heard him, her eyes are drawn back to his, shy, looking at him from under her lashes. If he didn't know better, if he didn't know she was entirely incapable of it, he might have called the look coy. She holds his stare for as long as she can, almost as if she is challenging him. No. Challenging herself. Ultimately it is too much for her, and she looks away, a telltale flush to her cheeks. The dark thing snarls.

Under her timidity and hesitancy she has a backbone, some secret strength that only manifests when she is trying to prove something to herself. Her small displays of willpower and decisiveness are unexplainably alluring. The depth of his want surprises him. It's not time, but he wants her taste again, tea and cream and innocence.

Not yet. Soon.

* * *

><p>As the three shinobi move northeast, the fog that plagued the coastal town moves directly eastward, roiling and writhing like a living thing. The woman enveloped within it is cheerful, almost twirling out of the way of obstructions, leaping over rocks and holes. The naginata strapped to her back is heavy, but it is a happy burden. Their task is complete and they are one step closer. Already, she thinks she is different, can feel the change under her skin, dancing along her nerves, twining itself through sinew and bone and blood. She is more than she was. She is beyond.<p>

Soon, she thinks with elation soaring under her breast, they will be one.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: <strong>Suspicious things are happening here. Everyone has their own diabolical plans…maybe even Umidori! DUN DUN DUN. Review, pretty please with a cherry on top.


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